I do not typically follow current events. My husband is the news watcher in the family. When I watch the news for any length of time, so much anxiety wells up inside me. It is much easier for me to stick my head in the sand and attempt to ignore it all.
HOWEVER, I don't think Jesus is calling me to live that way. How am I to love and care for widows and orphans if I live unaware of their needs?
Jennie Allen shared this video on her blog about a month ago. I have not been able to get this woman's story out of my head. Take a few minutes to watch:
Can you even imagine what these women have been through?
They were starving.
Exhausted.
Mourning the loss of their babies. Their Parents. Their siblings.
Running for their lives.
It is all very sobering and heart wrenching. It is the kind of suffering that I know nothing about.
Purchasing soap to help these women seems so insignificant! But it is their livelihood! It is how they are able to continue on living and supporting their families after being displaced from their homes.
As I was driving down the road one day, this verse popped into my head:
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. [Ps. 55:22.]
And the conversation with God that followed went something like this:
"God, do you really mean ALL my cares? Because my cares are pretty insignificant in comparison to what people across the ocean are experiencing. My "cares" lately have had a lot to do with finding the "right" house. Making sure that my kiddo is prepared for school. Finding a church family. Healing from ailments. My life is not in danger and we have everything we need and so much more. Do You really care about my burdens?"
God's answer: "YES!"'
And that just blows me away. I am so humbled that the God who is God over ALL is interested in what is going on in my so very blessed life. He WANTS me to talk to Him about what is weighing me down and for me to listen to what He has to say.
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom" (Psalm 145:3).