More than this

I’m sad.  I’m sitting here in my heated RV.  We have plenty of food in the fridge, I have multiple outfits in my closet and practically any source of entertainment at my fingertips.  I live in a safe area and my country was built on and emphasizes freedom.  I am free.  It’s a good feeling until I realize that it means I am also complacent.

I’ve read several articles lately of people in foreign countries who are tortured or killed for minor crimes.  Some are tortured or killed for no reason at all.  For many, it’s not safe to walk outside of their own homes.  And then there are people who don’t even have homes.  Or families.  Or food or clothes.

So, I’m sad, because I am not nearly grateful enough for the abundant blessings I do have and because there are so many people who will never have anything close to what I have.  It lights a fire in a me a little bit, because as much as I love freedom, I also hate complacency.  Even if Josh and I never make it back to Africa (hopefully we will!) to live there and help people, I want to make sure that my time is not wasted.  I want to think less of myself and my comforts and more about how I can help people who have nothing.

My life is not all about me.  Sure, it’d be nice to have constant happiness and comfort, but when I die, I doubt I will have cared about how many feather pillows I slept on at night.  I am called to be more and to do more.  Helping others, being a light in the darkness- that is what measures my purpose.  And I hope that when I’m done on this earth, no one will be able to say I wasn’t finished yet.

 

“When the time comes to die, make sure that all you have to do is die.” –Jim Elliot