Right in Our Own Backyard

Each time I sit at this computer to begin to write some sort of blog post about the things going on in my life God just seems to tell me NO! “People don’t want to know about this stuff!” I hear it just echoing in my mind.

We have been to fun places this summer and done some fun things and I love sharing those times with my family, but for some reason my heart and mind just get distracted and I can’t seem to put those things into words.

Over and over, however,  the thoughts come to my mind about the people that are in our own backyards who are in need. I suppose God’s refining fire in my life has been turned up a notch! While there are lots of fun things going on around this crazy house of mine, our family has been issued the command to GO! Live Sent! Figure out what YOU can do to make a difference in the life of someone today…

There are lots of days that it is ALL about us. Where we wanna eat. What we wanna wear. Who we wanna see and what we wanna do…

It’s just that after God stood on my head for a year (literally! STOOD ON MY HEAD. Yes, He did.) until the Clothes Closet was opened and then He opened the door for me to go to Africa and THEN He opened the door for my husband to go to Rhode Island… well, this is slowly creeping in and consuming our every thought that this life is not about us!

Just today two people came into the Clothes Closet and they had recently lost their spouses. They were not there to shop. They were there to donate their loved one’s items and take another step in saying goodbye. It was visibly hard for them and what an honor for me! I needed to gently let them know that we would be honored to help take those items and give them to others that might be able to put them to use.

I never thought that helping those in need might mean something like helping say goodbye. They had a different need than any that I ever thought I’d encounter. They NEEDED a safe place to let go and a safe place to voice that their hearts were hurting a little because of what they were having to do.

Then there was the lady who moved her hoping to make a new life for herself after her husband left. She has been here a year and she’s working part time but it’s not enough to take care of all of the bills. She came in to find a few things to wear to work and she hasn’t found a church yet. She’s kind of alone and… I guess I never thought that helping those in need might mean inviting someone to come sit with me at church just so they will know that someone cares enough to meet them there… and sit with them.

Not everyone that enters our doors share their stories. Some of them are completely silent and I have no idea what they are returning to as they take their items and leave. Some of them CHOOSE to continue in a lifestyle of seeking support from every organization out there and having no desire to work. Others, however, are trying with ALL their might to find work and support their families and they just need a little help until they get there.

Honestly, I am finding that I don’t care. As I meet more and more people in my own backyard that do not have clothing or basic toiletry it just does not matter as to why they’ve come. God said for us to help those in need… He did not put a clause in the Bible that stated that they need so show me credentials before I help them.

I don’t know. It is fun to share pictures of our lives and to talk about what we did on vacation. It’s not that I want to NOT enjoy time away or share it with others. I guess, for me, those things are beginning to take a back seat and I am becoming more sensitive to the fact that it’s just not always all about me!