Lights of 2019

It started with an idea to pack a plastic bag with a few items to hand to one of the homeless men we typically see on the way home from church. It quickly turned into a mini project that included a trip to the store to make “Blessing Bags.” According to our children, we needed more things to add to the bags. The boys even insisted on adding a dollar and some coins of their hard earned chore money. When we left the church, our sweet boys had those Blessing Bags clutched tightly in their hands and in their laps. They were so excited to find someone to hand the bags over to. They scanned the world that lingered outside their backseat windows. They searched and hoped for someone, anyone, in need.

We didn’t see anyone at the usual location. Irony so often seems to wreak havoc on good-doers. Later, at a restaurant, the boys spotted a cook in the back with stains on his apron. “Is he homeless? He looks like he doesn’t have clean clothes,” they inquired. They were desperate to find someone who could use their bags. Now, each time we get in the car, those bags are picked up and set on the laps of two little boys ready to be used to meet a need. They scan, search, and are ready.

What if we had the same attitude in the year 2019? What if we scanned, searched, and were ready? What if we were intentional to adopt the willingness to not just look for someone to help, but to be prepared to meet a need? What if we prayed to be excited to help others and not look at it as a burden or a strain? What if we hoped or even longed for an opportunity to bless someone that could use help? What if we loosened the grip of our hard earned money and gave it joyfully to someone else without an expectation on how they would spend it?

It’s possible.

The Lord loves for us to seek Him as children do. He longs to give opportunities to those who ask. He blesses those who bless others.

May we be ready and willing to be a Light in a dark world for 2019. The world is desperate for you, me, and two little boys to look out the window.

 

 

Photo Credit- NordWood Themes Unsplash.com