Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. James 5:13
When you travel for a year with the explicit purpose of bringing glory to God and reflecting His love in the world you sometimes have days that just don’t seem that praiseworthy. At least, that is, by worldly standards. Nothing happened today that would make me think, at first glance, we made this huge impactful change in the world by sacrificing our comfort, career, and putting friendships on hold. Today could easily be thought of as a reason why this trip was purposeless.
But as I reflect on the day’s events I realize that even the smallest actions can have big results and that sometimes just being there is part of the change. While my day consisted primarily of homeschool work with the kids, Sara was present at the hospital and at the after-hours clothing sale which helped to benefit Firm Foundations. After spending quality time with the children she worked with the FFR folks to facilitate a clothing sale of sorts for the hospital nurses. They were able to buy quality new and used clothing which had been donated and the prcoeeds went directly to FFR’s efforts to help the children in the hopstial. It might not seem like a huge and life changing event but in the grand scheme this “small” effort makes a real difference. And at the end of the day any difference in the positive is better than no difference at all.
This year has really opened my eyes as to the impact we as individuals can have. I think that we sometimes get caught in the trap of feeling that if we cannot make a monumental impact then it is not worth attempting. The truth is that all of our efforts should be done to His glory and honor and so every task and event can be done with the utmost grace. It has taken me many months to even start to realize this and I hope that in the months ahead I will embrace it even further.
As I leave you I want to you remind you of a hymn that I loved singing in our church in Madison and one that I think truly reflects my feeling as of late. I think it reflects beautifully the simpleness of what God asks of us. We don’t know his plans or how He plans to use us so we will do whatever we can whenever we can. Plus, James says to sing praises if your happy and I could not be happier. So all of you at home, I want you to belt this one out, or at least in your head.
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
I’m gonna live so God can use me
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
I’m gonna pray so God can use me…
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
I’m gonna work so God can use me…
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
I’m gonna sing so God can use me…
Anywhere, Lord, anytime.
Sara's Daily Scripture and Journal 