This weekend there was a march of epic proportions. I am sure you saw coverage, experienced it firsthand, or something along those lines. I felt several emotions when thinking about it. I am certain that my opinion (regardless of where I land) will stir debate. So, this is not about my thoughts on the march. I am still not sure what all I think about it. I was journaling my thoughts on Sunday and I felt like God said, “Where you land is not as important as what you plan to do.”
I paused my writing to think about that. What truth! What I feel about the events taking place in my country don’t matter nearly as much as the actions I am willing to take. I started praying and listening to God’s heart on my next steps. Here is what came out of that session.
Spread Love
In a tangible way, broadcast love to those you have even a tiny bit of influence over. So this is what I am doing. I am going to put posts about local places and local people being love. I’ll start with the ones I know personally and move out from there.
This weekend our pastor spoke about profiting others. He encouraged us to be willing to step out of our own comforts for the opportunity to bless others. He ended the sermon today by ambushing a couple in the church whose husband lost his job a couple of weeks ago. He had them come up front and asked us to give to their need. And we did. We lined up and gave them a hug and words of encouragement and then placed some money in a bucket next to them. Sometimes it’s just that simple. Was that uncomfortable? Sure. Did it stretch a few people? I imagine it did. Will that impact that family? You bet!
I want to hear more stories of people going out of their way to be kind. I want to be a part of a movement that is so focused on doing the next right thing that it doesn’t have time to gather the angry and give them a voice. I want to be too busy loving my neighbor to care about their political bent. I want to wear the kind of glasses that only allow me to see you as a soul trying to connect. I want to go through your economic status, your sexual orientation, your skin color, and your religious affiliation. I want to see the marrow of your being. I will not let emotions distract me from the real purpose of my time on Earth.
Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with my God. I seek to know HIM, I desire to be a reflection of HIM to all I meet, and I will ask for actions steps for me personally to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others. I have actions to fulfill and I want to be about my Father’s business for me. Will you join me in being more aware of our purpose? It is not a daunting, big thing, it could be coming alongside another woman and giving her encouragement. It could be answering that pull you have had to pray for a friend every day for a week. It could be including someone new to your circle. It could be grabbing an extra $5 worth of food at the grocery and getting it to your local food bank. These are not life-altering examples, but they are waves in the right direction and hundreds of waves are a force to reckoned with. Join me! Do the next right thing and use the hashtag #bethelove. Let’s do this!