I am ashamed.
I just recently stumbled across Katie Davis’ story. If you
are not familiar with Katie Davis, she is your average, girl next door from Tennessee who loves
Jesus. It’s as simple as that. After high school, Katie decided she wanted to
spend a year doing mission work in Uganda . Needless to say, her
parents were speechless by her urgent desire to go to Uganda . Katie
and her mother had visited the country for three weeks earlier that year, and
God kept Uganda
on Katie’s mind from that point on. She fell in love with the country. And she
fell in love with the children. God laid it on her heart to return to Uganda and to
trust He would take care of the rest. And so she went. And she stayed.
Wow. First of all, I praise God for this young woman and the
desires He has placed on her heart. We all wish to be used for the Kingdom in
some way or the other. Katie was willing to give it all, no matter what. Can we
say that today, friends? Are we willing to give it all no matter what?
Secondly, I am ashamed to admit that I really haven’t spent
much time thinking about or praying for the poor and oppressed overseas.
Honestly, I haven’t spent much time thinking about the poor and oppressed here
in my hometown. It wasn’t until I began work with The Lighthouse Rescue Mission
in the fall of 2014 that God truly began to open my eyes. The children and
mothers at The Lighthouse touched my heart. While I know I can’t singlehandedly
rid the city of Hattiesburg
(let alone the whole world – even though I so wish I could…) of the seemingly
endless cycle of homelessness and poverty, I know the one thing I can do. I can
show them love.
Love. What a beautiful and powerful gift God’s love is! He
loves us. He truly, deeply and compassionately loves us. Despite all we have
done. Despite all of our many failures. I have failed to see the homeless and
the orphaned as God’s children. It breaks my heart thinking about my missed
opportunities to show God’s love.
I am so thankful that the Lord has broken my heart for the
poor and oppressed. I have met so many beautiful souls and loved on many little
children since joining The Lighthouse. What more could we be missing out on?
Can we all rally together to show love to those around us?
Lord, break our hearts.
©2015 Jean Claire Monroe · All rights reserved.
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