I live in a land of excess, gated communities, and real housewives.
Yet hidden in this land are the broken, the hurting, the needy, the unemployed, the homeless.
Each and every time I see them I am undone.
Undone because nobody else seems to see them.
They turn away from them on the corners.
They impatiently will the stoplight to turn green on the freeway exits.
They act as if they are invisible.
They are not invisible.
They have names.
They have stories.
They have dreams.
I do not care how life brought them to the street corner.
What I do care about is THEM.
They exist. They are not invisible.
They were created by God, and they matter to Him.
Something that matters to God, matters to me.
While I cannot change their circumstances, I can give them a hot meal and a snack.
I can look them in the eyes and let them know that I see them.
Actually see them.
That I care about them.
It might not be much, but it is something.
Tuck a handful of gift cards into your glove box.
When the opportunity arises, hand one out with a warm smile.
See those the rest of the world doesn't.
Change their day, if only for a few minutes.
A whole lot of hope can be contained in a few minutes.
Want to take today outside of our borders?
As our newspaper and mailbox fills with holiday catalogs advertising the latest STUFF, I wanted my kids to see beyond toys and the latest American Girl outfits.
I wanted them to see what the rest of the world is wishing for Christmas.
Yes, Kit's new holiday dress is adorable.
Rebecca's kittens are super cute.
But for the same price guess what we could buy...
We browsed the Compassion Christmas Catalog, they were brought to a whole new reality.
Give your kids a chance to do the same. I bet their hearts will surprise you.
I know I was.
Acknowlege the invisible. Be the only sunshine someone sees today. Buy a gift from the Compassion Catalog.
Come back tomorrow as we share a book with a friend.
Love this idea. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteGotta love those crazy days:)
ReplyDeleteJess @ Eat.Pray.Mommy.
thank you for all of your inspiring ideas :)
ReplyDelete-Annie
Love these ideas! Found you via FB link thanks to I Can Teach My Child. Awesome blog! I'll be back. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words.
ReplyDeleteI just found this project and after reading this blog entry, with tears in my eyes, I just praise God for people like you...I am excited to start this up. Really excited to spread the love of God around, and not be so self-focused in a world of lost and hurting souls. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
ReplyDeleteMarybeth
I am loving this project. I am sticking with you so far. Today especially touches my heart. My family and I are blessed to share sweet tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and OF COURSE marshmallows :) at the park on Sunday evenings for a picnic with folks in need. You are right about their wanting to be seen and known. They are just like me, they have stories, heartbreaks, joys.....and they love passionately too. I am so thankful to call them my friends. Thank you too for sharing the Compassion Catalog. Ours came the other day. I love the idea of letting my children choose; I had not thought of that. Thank you for sharing your beautiful soul! :) Hugs and have an awesome day!
ReplyDeleteBoy, isn't that the truth. I love your heart Julie! Time to get some gift cards! I'm sharing this on Facebook and Twitter too. This needs so much to be heard.
ReplyDeleteKristina Gulino
Something 2 Write About
amen.
ReplyDeletethis project has opened our hearts even more! god is so good.
I really loved this project. From someone who lives in a town without a lot of opportunity to see the homeless each day, reminders like these are good. Teaching my daughter about the realities of so many make my heart sing. Thanks for the happy days:)...it's been so great.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea too! I just downloaded the artwork for the days past. Also the photo for this post is not showing up.
ReplyDelete