We are where we are, in our houses, on our street, interacting with the people we see, on purpose.
It is not a coincidence, nor an accident, that this house is exactly where it is. Next to, and across from, the exact houses that our neighbors live in.
I believe that we, as humans, are meant to affect each other. Help each other. Be a community. Be friendly, available, and present.
Its easy to choose to pull the shades down, get lost in our favorite show for hours, as the days spin past. Unaffected by us. I just did this last week. When I was all caught up on the favorite show, I pulled the shades up, and felt… disconnected.
What did I miss? Whose footprints are these? Where was I supposed to be?
I’ll never know I guess.
Life. I missed being a part of someone’s life. I wasn’t looking. I didn’t see or hear, because I was focused on me, with the shades down, blocking the path.
My children are learning this as well. The friends that are placed on their path, walking side by side with them, are not there just because they had nowhere else to go. They were placed there. We were placed there. On purpose. Together. For a reason.
Life gets busy, but our needs remain.
Tonight, my eyes saw and my ears heard a painful plea. A young boy wanted to feel important.
I want to believe that he was met with, and felt, kindness. I hope that kindness is the reason he didn’t want to go home. He shared his pain with us because he needed to feel affirmed. He placed his heart on the table so that we could fill it up, and pray that it would be mended.
I was reminded tonight, when I looked into the eyes of this child, that the mission field isn’t always miles away, across the world, where food and water are scarce. The mission field is right here, where food and water abound, but love and joy are lacking.
I’m reminded of Mother Theresa’s prayer – that God would give her eyes to see people the way that He sees them, and a heart to love them the way He loves them.
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” God asked in Isaiah 6:8
“Here am I. Send me!”
Overcoming Obstacles 