This week at Power of Moms, we are hosting a fundraiser called “It Takes a Village” for a beautiful community in South Africa. This post was written by blogger and author Lisa-Jo Baker, who visited that community several years ago. You can also hear more about Lisa-Jo in this week’s podcast “How Ordinary Moms Can Make an Extraordinary Difference.”
Editor’s Note: Power of Moms is a website for mothers of all religious preferences. Our Spiritual Sundays section is a place where our authors can write about thoughts that are more spiritual in nature, and our goal is to gather a wide variety of perspectives.
It’s nearly 2am here in South Africa and I’ve been up since 4 am (hellloooo, jet lag!). My hair is still stuck to my neck with sweat and dust, but I’m here at my computer because, you guys, you beautiful amazing women on the other side of this screen, I can’t wait one minute longer to share with you the one thing I discovered today that we absolutely can’t afford to miss out on:
When we bump into people who are in need, I don’t know about you, but often the knee-jerk emotion I can feel is GUILT.
But man, have we ever got that wrong.
If there’s only one thing you remember from this half-way-around-the-world blog post, let it be this:
When we bump into people in need, it’s never supposed to be about our guilt, but always and only received as a GIFT.
Let me say that again, because it’s stuck on repeat in my own head.
You reading this while you’re waiting in the car pool line, or on the train or stuck in traffic, or outside your son’s classroom or your daughter’s ballet class, or in between loads of laundry, or locked in the bathroom trying to find a spare second of quiet —
When we bump into people in need, it’s never supposed to be about our guilt, but always and only received as a GIFT.
I’m not sure how that fact got missed along the way. But it did, I think.
The last thing we need is one more layer of guilt to add to the shame and worry and mother-guilt we’ve already layered thick onto ourselves.
But today, out in the dirt and the dust and the JOY of the community we visited, I rediscovered this beautiful truth —> Our God is a giver of GOOD GIFTS. He is the Father who doesn’t give His sons and daughters a rock or a snake when they are hungry; He gives them hearty, healthy bread.
So when He lets our lives so beautifully, unexpectedly, and yes, sometimes even uncomfortably, bump into the lives of other people in His Kingdom who have a need that we can meet — He’s offering us a divine gift.
He’s in essence extending through that orphan, or the shy child, or the mom who is going through a horrible divorce an invitation into the work HE IS ALREADY DOING and will continue doing whether we choose to be a part of it or not.
He’s not interested in our guilt; He’s offering us an invitation.
He’s not interested in our guilt; He’s interested in our participation.
He’s not interested in our guilt; He’s generously offering us a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, with the joy of working alongside Him.
You see, He already has enough. He already is enough.
He will accomplish His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Whether we choose to participate or not.
He’s simply, generously inviting us to be part of that wild, miraculous journey with Him.
With Him.
Oh man, you beautiful mothers out there, don’t miss out. We can’t miss out on this one.
Because saying yes to this invitation is learning to see gifts where we used to just see guilt, exhaustion or impossibility.
Oh, I want those eyes. I want a life full of those gifts. I want that view of the world for my kids and especially for myself when I think I’m too busy or too tired to keep giving.
Because whether we see something as a guilt-trip or a gift is entirely in the eye of the beholder.
QUESTION: Have you ever felt guilt when confronted with need in the world? Does this guilt make you feel more or less likely to open your heart to give and receive?
CHALLENGE: Next time you see need that makes you feel guilty: pause, take a deep breath, and pray to ask God to help you accept this situation as a gift–an opportunity to become part of His work, to learn, grow, and receive. Then move forward in faith.
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