exactly how sneaky are sneakers?

Tonight I volunteered at my cousin's VBS. We worked in crafts and were helping the kids figure out what flip flop size they needed for an upcoming craft during the week. As we were fitting the kids shoes, one girl who seemed a little less well kempt and socially unsure of herself took off her shoe to reveal a foot that had fungus eating away at the toenails and toes that were bent to the shape of a shoe. Immediately my heart broke for this child. It was clear that the shoes she had were ones she'd worn for quite some time, and I imagine the twisting of her toes was from wearing shoes that were too small as a child. I wanted to snatch that child up, hug her, and buy her a pair of beautiful new shoes. Shoes are something that I sometimes take so for granted. I have probably 20+ pairs between my flip flops, boots, tennis shoes, walking shoes, high heels, etc...and I'm not even that interested in shoes--it just seems you 'need' a pair for different seasons, dressiness, outfits, etc. What broke my heart even more was thinking about how you could easily get a pair of shoes at Walmart for $10-15 for a child...$10-15 is less than I spent on movie tickets last week and not much more than I spent on ice cream.

Sometimes I feel selfish, I'll admit it, that I spend the money I do on myself. It's not so much that I think the Bible says you have to give everything you own to the poor and be miserable yourself...not at all. But I do often struggle when it says to care for the poor, just how far I am supposed to go. I want to give, give, give...but to what end is it realistic, and how much more can I help if I invest some now and save to help more at a later date? That child will live the rest of her life with feet that she will look at and probably feel ugly because of, she may get made fun of because of it come high school, etc. All because when her little precious body was growing, mom and dad probably either couldn't afford shoes for her, or perhaps even didn't care. I'm not sure what her story is, but I know what it could be, and it breaks my heart.

Along the same lines, I was watching TV briefly tonight and it was Dateline or some similar real life crime story show. It was speaking, I believe, about a little girl who had been mistreated. This was after I heard this morning and again this afternoon about the little boy who has disappeared in another state and they are blaming his stepmother. Why would anyone injure a child? Why would anyone mistreat or abuse or sexually assult a child--an innocent child? These things boggle my mind. But, as with any other sin, the devil has his ways of tempting us and making something ugly and horrendous look appealing--so to the person that did whatever to some child out there, for at least a moment, they believed it would fix something or satisfy something within themselves. Oh, the wretched evil one.

So, bad things happen, people mistreat children, people are unable to provide for them, etc. We live in a world, in a country, in a neighborhood full of hurting people that just want to know they are loved. I think that is one of the reasons I find Christ so appealing---no matter who you are, He offers you His love. No one else does that. That's legit. Christ loves all peoples of all colors and all nations, and He has called us to walk in His footsteps and act in His likeness. Oh, what a calling that is. A call to help little ones get the hugs they need a day, to play spades with the homeless in Chicago, IL, to listen to that 14 year old girl that talks your ear off about boys so that she'll know someone cares.

The back of the cereal box shows us a picture of a family that eats together, smiles together, prospers together, etc., but for so much of our country this picture isn't true. So when the home fails, the church needs to be stepping in. And I don't mean the church in the sense of First Baptist at 1001 Such and Such Blvd. No, I mean the church as the whole entire body of Christians that is Christ (1 Corinthian 12:12 tells us we each have a different part to play). We are called to love on orphans, widows, the sick, and the needy. We are called to providing a greater hope to those that do not know the awesomeness that is Jesus Christ. This world needs love in the form of Jesus Christ that is displayed through His people. We need to stop piling on self-help solutions to our problems and get help from ourselves through Jesus Christ. We are a team...after all, this is the battle of good versus evil in the world, and as evil tries to snatch up our babies, our timid, and our unsure brothers and sisters, we are not called to sit back and watch hoping that we do not invade their privacy or offend them; rather, we are called to try our best to help them, knowing that we may sometimes fail, but we will also never succeed if we do not try.

There is a hurting world out there. It gets worse with each passing day for many people, as the burdens pile on and nothing seems to relieve the weight, the pain, or the lack of love. Matthew 11:28 promises that Christ will carry the burdens of His people when they are given to Him. If you believe this to be truth [and if you claim to be Christian I sure hope you do] then by not sharing this reality with your friends, family, and even strangers, you are admitting that their pain and frustration is not worth your effort. And when it's put like that, doesn't it feel a little selfish?

You've got something to do. You've got someone to bless. Perhaps you'll even change the world. My suggestion: ask God what you can be doing for Him today. And at the very least, put forth the effort to make sure one person in your circle today has an absolutely fantastic day. You never know when that extra 'umph' of effort could change or save a life.

You are loved, go love on somebody.