It's not about me

"Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed".

My sister gave me a cosmetic bag once with a sign on the front that read, "it's all about me". It was cute and it did a practical job and held my make up.

We live in a society that is 'me focused'. What can I get? How will this help me? What gain is in it for me? What about me? What about me? People are selfish and will go to great lengths, and pay a lot of money, to help themselves. I'm not saying we we should never spend money on our own endeavours, and of course, we need to take care of ourselves. 

But, have you ever thought that it might not always be about you? We are called to love the unlovely, to reach out to those who are broken and down trodden. I don't know about you, but I don't have to look to far to see great need, in my community. In fact, someone knocked our door last night who is in an extremely desperate and devastating situation, and in need of love and care. Without hesitation, we invited them into our home and gave them a safe place to stay.

Will you choose to set your own desires and wants aside to reach out to those who are in need around you? There are people who need a shoulder to cry on, a meal in their hungry stomachs, a blanket to shelter them from the cold, a prayer to help them experience God's peace. And mostly, people just need to know that someone care about them and is there for them.

Who can you reach out to today? How can you take time to love someone and show them you care?

The Bibles tells us, in Proverbs, that those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Such great words. I have had first hand experience of this time and time again. As I trust God with the things that concern my own life, and reach out to help meet someone else's need, God always steps into my life and takes care of me... Always!  He is our provider, our portion, our protector. Healing comes in our own lives, when we step out of our comfort zone, and reach out to support another. Sometimes we just need to 'get over ourselves' and get ourselves all over others :-)

Reach out to someone today. You will be so glad you did :-)

[photographs taken from mission trip to The Philippines in 2013]