I Want To Be The Blessing

I’m a newsie.  Shocking, I know.  I check the world news multiple times a day and the journalist in me requires me to examine multiple sources on the same story because I simply do not trust our major news outlets…any of them. But that’s not the point of this post.

As I read through the headlines, I hurt for all those suffering in this broken world.  A four-year-old gunned down in the backseat of her father’s truck in New Mexico.  A 13-year-old accidentally shot by her friend in Las Vegas.  A bus wreck killing 42 people in France. A catastrophic hurricane headed for poverty-stricken Mexico.

And that doesn’t count the local tragedies.  Three fatal crashes this week alone.  A child beaten to death by its father, and the disgusting editorial in the newspaper shaming the homeless.

Then there are the people I know who are suffering.  Losing a father to cancer.  A marriage crumbling. An unwanted medical diagnosis.  A miscarriage.

Over the past weeks, the Lord has opened my eyes and made me keenly aware of the suffering.  Jesus himself said, “In this world, you will have trouble.  But take heart.  I have overcome the world.”

Over and over again He has stirred a convention deep in my heart.  Challenging me to see missed opportunities to be a blessing to someone.

Wednesday night I sat at the table at church and scrolled through my phone while my kids played.  I was tired.  It had been a long day, and I just needed a few minutes to decompress while everyone was entertained and safe.  But I keep thinking about the opportunities I missed to invest in the kids who are bussed into our church from an area trailer park.  Their constant interruptions weren’t just annoyances, they were cries for attention.  Cries that I neglected to address because I was tired.  

How many other opprtunites have I missed because I am too busy, too rushed, too tired, to overwhelmed to sit down with someone?

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ – Matthew 25:40

These verses convict me.  I want to be the blessing.

 I want to be the breath of fresh air walking into the room and not the added gossip, stress, or complaint.

I want to build other up through encouragement and not fill the need to give them a dose of reality.

I want to sit and talk and not rush to the next appointment.

I want to send cards and words of hope not just a text.

I want to live humbly financially so that I can buy someone’s meal, cup of coffee or  special treat.

I want to take time to understand my child’s cry and not fuss at them to stop.

I want to sit in the floor to play and not waste time worrying about the laundry.

I want to welcome visitors into my home on a whim without feeling the need to deep clean before they arrive.

I want to be the blessing.

I want to post real life images on social media instead of staged snapshots that portray a false reality.

This world is dying. People are fighting for their souls, and we as Christians are losing.  We’re losing.  Please understand that.  We are losing.

We are losing because we are too busy to SEE the pain that surrounds us.

We are too rushed to stop and LISTEN to someone's cry for attention.

We are too connected with electronics to CONNECT with others.

We are too obsessed with out appearances to serve the least of these.

I am ready to turn the tide.  I am ready to take responsibility for my sphere of influence.  I am ready to be the blessing in someone's life.