Why is the sky blue, or so asks nearly every child beginning
To learn their place in the universe.
Why do we sometimes feel sad for no apparent reason at all?
Why do we keep making the same mistakes we’ve made before?
Will we ever be happy or satisfied?
When will struggles end…
When will: Peace finally arrive, and will everyone have everything they need to survive?
Do we have to wait until paradise for everything to work out correctly? Why can we not be content and satisfied with a better life here? Now.
Life doesn’t have all the answers. Nor do I.
Often we have no clue what the questions are that may help us seek better answers.
Turn Your Questions Into Answers
Before the questions get so weighty, we feel there’s no use in leaving the house. Perhaps the best answer is to find something you can change. Then, change the world with what you’ve found.
What’s that story about the boy tossing stranded starfish back into the ocean? There were thousands stranded on the beach. Someone asked him, “Why save any of them? It doesn’t matter. Look at all the ones you can’t save.” He paused and thought about it. He finally replied, “True. But it matters to this one!” He tossed another back into the ocean.
I cannot make sense of everything around me nor find answers to every question. But I can make a difference when I focus on the need I see.
The stories of our lives are full of meaningful changes we accomplish one at a time.
If you can be a change agent for even one person, then you are making a difference in the world. We could make the world better if we all focused on this action.
As I age, I’m finding I cannot do the things I might once have done to help someone through their struggles. No. That energy is a time in my past. But I can find something different to do. So I do it!
Accepting Help From Others
We are often too proud or ashamed of where we have been and where we find ourselves today.
We descend into the abyss of need, not feeling like we should ask for help.
But if you’ve always invested in others, accept the time others need to invest in you. From a giver, you show others that being a receiver is okay. From being a receiver, you help others learn it’s okay to bless someone with a gift of caring.
This is a cautionary tale. Some will always be takers and will never be in a position of being a giver. There are many reasons why: mental health, disabilities, and spiritual issues are just some of the reasons.
Some will always show up and work hard to be at the front of the line when there’s free food. But ask them for an act of service? They will always be the last ones to show up. There’s an imbalance at work.
How do I handle it? Realize I don’t know everything about everybody. If I start judging, I will mistakenly paint them with the wrong color or brush of reality.
Find an Example To Follow
Menial labor is often proscribed as something most of us would never consider doing, especially if it’s to be done for someone within our ranks. I’m not talking about feeding the hungry on Thanksgiving Day when others will be watching! I’m talking about doing something that no one else will ever know anything about.
There are plenty of examples of this, and had it not shown up in the Gospel accounts, how many of us would know this piece of history?
Toward the end of his ministry, Jesus came into the Last Supper and immediately began washing his disciples’ feet. Peter said, “No way!” But Jesus quickly puts him in his place, and Peters acquiesces. Lesson Learned!
Then, Jesus teaches this quick lesson:
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
For I have given you an example,
that you should do as I have done to you.
(John 13:14-15 NKJV)
Why?
I don’t have to know the why,
It’s my job to do as I see a need.
If I do it for glory’s sake
Then the glory received then will be my reward.
But if I do it and no glory is required,
Those will be part of my life’s story.
Written and read by all, and probably long after I’m gone.