Lately I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Christmas…and what it means…and how I can become a better faithful servant for my Heavenly Father…I think of baby Jesus…and I think of His life…How He was…IS…and WILL ALWAYS be faithful…true…perfect…and love. I think of how He gave SO much—He literally GAVE HIS LIFE…for us…for HIS PRECIOUS children…You and I…we are His precious children—No matter what we have ever done. He holds nothing against us and loves us with His WHOLE heart—His WHOLE life…he laid down to die for you and me. He is with us always…and wants so badly to be a part of our lives…all we have to do is invite Him in…He wants that personal relationship with us…He wants to bless us…so that we can bless others…and pass along the GOOD NEWS of our Savior and King!! Oh, won’t you please invite Him IN?!?! ….He is so patiently waiting for you!!!
I think of the need…the GREAT NEED…around the world…around the United States…and here in my own community… I look around and I see the pretty decorations…and I see all of the goodies…the piles of food…the expensive presents… and I find myself torn…I’m here in America…Where as a college student without a full-time job and with the cost of college… I laugh and consider myself a “poor” college student…when really, I am considered to be RICH to more than half of the people that live in this world. Yes…I have plenty of debt due to my college loans…but I am considered RICH—simply because I have the basic needs to survive…I have CLEAN…WARM…RUNNING WATER right in the next room…As much water as I want—not need…But WANT…I have it…I have MORE than enough….Then there is the food…It never seems to phase me…I get sick to my stomach when I think about this…I have more than enough food—I have PLENTY of food…I have a variety of different kinds and types and brands of food all stocked in our cupboards, fridge and freezer…but yet, there are MILLIONS of children around the world…literally STARVING to death…? I don’t get it…I don’t understand it…and to be honest and real—this upsets me more than ANYTHING! It gets me mad…upset…but more importantly…DETERMINED… I have GREAT health…and I have GREAT doctors here in America that are ready to care and serve me if and when anything ever happens….I have a HOUSE to live in…with PLENTY of room. My own bedroom is bigger than the mud houses I visited while I was in Africa…I have a big plush bed and nice soft carpet….while they sit and sleep on the cold dirt….Wow….we have SO much here, don’t we?
And although the statistics of the number of children that die each year due to malnutrition are very overwhelming…I have made a promise to myself to DO what I CAN. Yes—I might not be able to save or feed or provide for all of these millions of children—But I can PROVIDE for ONE….I can FEED ONE…I can SERVE ONE…I can LOVE and SUPPORT ONE! ….And I pray that God leads me and uses me to bless more than one child…but either way, I know I CAN—WILL be a HERO to ONE!!
I have always had these ideas…goals…and BIG dreams of how I would like to help God’s precious children…I’m not sure what God has in store for me…But I do know that I’m going to keep praying about my future and about His plans for me…and I pray that if it is in His will…He would use me to help make a difference to the “least of the least” that are hurting and that are lonely and that are in desperate need of food, water, health care and love. …Although I am going to school right now to become an Early Childhood Education teacher, the walls of my heart hold a bigger…more deeper dream. I pray that God uses me somehow…someway to help these precious children on a daily basis—as my fulltime job. You might be wondering what this looks like…I am too….But I have no idea…All I know is that God sees the desires of my heart…and I’m confident that no matter what my future holds—His plans are the best, so I will continue to always follow what He places on my heart and what He calls me to do. Maybe He has something else in store for me--? I don’t know…and all I can do is pray about it and to have an open heart!
Ever since embarking on this journey to Africa last summer I have prayed for God to use me...For God to open up my eyes and heart to the desperate need so many of these children face on a daily basis… And I prayed for God to help use me to bring hope and to be love to the many children that I met…I also prayed that God would use me after my trip…as a way to advocate for these helpless and voiceless children…I strongly have had it in my heart that now since I have gone and seen with my own eyes and with my own heart…I am responsible. I am responsible to share about my experience…to share the great need that these children have….I am responsible to encourage others to HELP…PROVIDE…LOVE these children…I believe the more people that are aware of how great these children’s needs are and what they can do to help…the better! After all, these trips are not about me—they are about HIM and about THEM. They are about being faithful to God and doing what He has told us to do…What He has called me to do…to visit orphans… I’d like to share a quote from the book called: Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care. This book was great—VERY powerful and this passage explains just where my heart is.
“My heart hurts when I think about the thousands who don’t have a mama and a papa who are coming to rescue them. Sadly, thousands of orphaned children face that reality every day. They are among the most vulnerable people walking the face of the earth. They have little option to provide for themselves, and the force of darkness that would prey on their plight for selfish gain are around every turn. God has called us to be a defender of the defenseless because that IS who HE IS. We are returning worship to God when we SHOW HIS CHARACTER to the world by championing the cause of the least of these.”
As I started this passage, I was explaining how my heart has been torn lately—(Well not just lately…more like ever since returning from Africa!!) …But even more so lately since Christmas has been approaching. We have so much here…and others have so little…why is that so? How is that fair? What can we do? …I love Christmas…I LOVE everything about this wonderful season. Yes, I do love the Christmas Lights…and I do love the Christmas Trees…and I do love baking Christmas cookies with my gramma and sister…and I do LOVE ALL of the beautiful Christmas Songs…and I do love shopping at the mall and I do love GIVING presents to others…and I DO LOVE spending time with my loved ones over this special holiday…But… I LOVE Jesus more. I love Jesus with my whole heart….I love that I have a personal relationship with Him…I love that I can pray…talk…and depend on Him at ALL TIMES! ….I love that He HEARS me…and that He KNOWS my heart even better than I do myself! ….I love that no matter WHAT happens…Jesus IS WITH ME….I LOVE knowing that Jesus sees, cares and LOVES the many precious children around the world…and I LOVE that He has placed this great desire in my heart to GO…LOVE…and VISIT them. I love everything about Jesus!!! ….And although there are SO many fun things that I love about Christmas…I pray that I continue to always remember the TRUE reason for this season….I pray that I always am thankful for the BIRTH of JESUS CHRIST…His LIFE has SAVED mine!! ….He died on the cross for ME. And yes, it is important that we DO take his death personal. He died on the cross for YOU and for ME! I know this is so hard to comprehend!!! But, it’s TRUE---So, take it personal and remember it! You ARE LOVED! Jesus gave HIS LIFE for YOU my friend!!!…And for that, I will always be excited about Christmas…because it is much, much more than just the presents and the decorations…It’s about the birth of Jesus and His perfect life that He lived. I pray that I always remember this and that I never get too tired of living for God and for seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus. Yes, it gets hard…yes, it isn’t always easy…but it is SO worth it.
So, this Christmas, and every day….I am praying for these precious babies around the world…I am thinking of them as I sit there and eat my plate full of food…I am thinking of them as I sit in my warm bubble bath full of clean-fresh water…and I am going to be thinking of them Christmas morning—while I’m surrounded by my loved ones…and they are all alone. They are left abandoned…they are left to care for themselves….they are left hungry…they are left without love…I am going to be thinking of them. And as I think of them—not only on Christmas morning, but on every day…I pray that God keeps breaking my heart…I pray that He keeps the reality of these children in my heart and in my mind at all times…For the more I am aware of how great their need is…The more I am determined to help and to give….Which I believe is what CHRISTmas is ALL about—Giving and Helping others…Just like Jesus came to GIVE His life for us.
…As I mentioned before how I pray that I can help encourage and spread the word about the great need that these children face on a daily basis….And while I was in the middle of writing this blog, I received a phone call. Two years ago I lived in Mankato and was a nanny for a family there in Mankato. It was such a joy getting to know them when I first started babysitting for them…and, now…this family that I started to baby-sit for is now some of my closest friends!!! They have blessed my life greatly and I am always so excited to go back to Mankato and visit them when my schedule allows me to. Patrick and I both love hanging out with them! …Tonight, their mom called and said she just had to quick share a story with me. She said that the boys were just sitting down and were writing their letters to Santa. She said she was calling because she just had to share what Parker wrote to Santa. She started reading his letter to me and it said: “Dear Santa, please bring Christmas presents to the children in Africa…” When she read this to me my heart got SO heavy! I told her that just brought tears to my eyes!!...I’ve been praying this whole time to make a difference in the lives of the precious children in Africa—which I so desperately want to do…But at the same time I want to make a difference on a daily basis to the people and children that surround me here in Minnesota. After she read the letter to me she said, “Shanna! They do listen to you!! They hear you and they remember about the kids in Africa!” ….It was so cute! It just made my heart so happy! Plus, Parker & Jack are so precious to me...and seeing how they too care about others just melts my heart!
Christmas will be here and gone before we know it…So, friends, I pray that we continue to GIVE and HELP and SHARE and SERVE and LOVE on a daily basis—throughout the WHOLE year. I pray that we remember what the TRUE meaning of Christmas is ALL about and I pray that we keep it close in our hearts….I pray that we continue on with this spirit of giving and continue to bless others! I pray that we each do what we can….and I believe; you and I will CHANGE the WORLD. We can do it—If God is for us…WHO can be against us? NO ONE! …And trust me, when we reach out to HIS orphans and widows around this world…God is most certainly for us…After all…this is something that He demands us to do! Keep giving…keep loving…and keep helping wherever and whenever you can!! God will bless you!! And you will be a Hero to One!!
I realize I still haven’t shared the NEWS on my blog about the Ordinary Hero Fundraiser!!! Just click on the link below to check it out!!!:) Was I ever HAPPY and EXCITED!!! Thanks AGAIN to ALL of you for HELPING ME and for HELPING the LEAST of the LEAST!!!
Blessings to you ALL this Christmas!!! Let’s be thankful and appreciate ALL that God has blessed us with!! …And please, remember to pray for the lonely ones around the world...
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