Friday, February 24, 2012

In My Own Backyard (article)

There are so many causes around the world to which a conscientious person can donate his or her time, money, and energy to. People are suffering every day from disease, from malnutrition, from loneliness, and from abuse and/or neglect. Almost every time I open the newspaper or turn on the radio, I hear pleas from various human interest groups to sponsor this or that poor people-group in some distant place. These well-meaning organizations repeat time and time again how far one's donations can go to help those in need -- and prattle on and on about what a difference one's assistance can make in the lives of these people.  We see their pictures posted on the television and it truly pulls on our heartstrings.


There is no denying the fact that there may be people starving in various places. Their plight ought not to be minimized, nor their needs ignored. But what about the people living closest to us?

What about the starving souls that we mindlessly ignore every single day? What about the wounded hearts we pass by without a second thought? Would it be PAINFUL to give someone who looks discouraged kind look or a smile? Are we afraid we'll catch something from them if we give them a hug? What if someone sees us? What will they THINK? Why are we so uncomfortable reaching out to the people that are nearby? 


What about the children from broken homes in OUR area who desperately need encouraging positive role models? Would it kill us to spend half an hour playing catch with a kid who doesn't have a real father-figure in his or her life?


Why is it so much easier to give money to feed some unknown people far away than it is to invite someone you don't know to join you for a bite to eat where you live?


Why is it easier to put a 20 dollar bill in an envelope in church and mark it "missions" than it is to drop off a few bags of groceries on someone's doorstep? 


How hard would it be, when we see someone paying for a few gallons of gas with loose change, to offer to fill up his or her gas tank?

Why is it so much more prestigious for us to volunteer to support a political candidate or protect the environment than it is to visit a nursing home or retirement community and spend time with older people that don't have friends or family to visit them? We could go visit more often and listen attentively to their stories. It won't kill us ... so what if they smell different or tell the same stories over and over again ... they've lived a lot longer than we have and their insight and wisdom are things that cannot be purchased anywhere at any price.  There are some lessons that cannot be learned from a book.  Experience teaches ... sometimes painfully ... but it teaches ...

i still don't know all the answers to so many questions. However, I do know that I am ashamed to admit that, all things considered, I am basically a selfish human being. It is so easy for me to become so absorbed with my own problems that I fail to respond to those around me who are crying out for help.

Sure, one could sponsor a child in some far-off place, get a (possibly fake) letter and a picture once a year, and feel like one was doing his or her part to make the world a better place. It's easy, it's convenient, and it's not a totally horrible place to start ... at least one's intentions are in the right place ...

But what about the single parent down the street who's working 3 jobs and still struggling to make ends meet? I suppose we could offer to watch his or her child(ren) for him or her once in awhile ... but they're so rowdy ... and their house is such a mess ... how can they live like that? ... after all, what would we even SAY to them to start with? maybe we don't have much in common with them ... maybe we don't know what their life has been like ... maybe we can't understand them and they can't understand us ... but we'll never know if we don't TRY to reach out to those around us ... we may find out we have more in common with them than we think we do ... there probably aren't any of us that don't know what it feels like to hurt inside and feel confused and not know what we're supposed to do ...
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Oh, Lord God, please open my eyes to the needs of those who are all around me. Give me a servant's heart. Help me stop worrying quite so much about what anybody else will think of me and start focusing instead how I can be a blessing to those around me. Forgive me for taking the "easy" approach to life too many times; help me not be afraid to get my hands dirty if that's what it takes to make a difference. Show me when a hug will be helpful to someone else. Help me to understand when somebody might just need another person to be near them and sit with them in quietness. May I learn to find you in the stillness and live each day with the purpose of helping others without requiring any extra recognition. Help me to look outside of my own problems and be sensitive to the needs of those around me that I come in contact with every day. Let me be your hands and your feet. Use me, Lord, on the mission field in my own backyard. AMEN.

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