look around

i went to the library today for story time. i was crossing the parking lot toward the entrance and a man came stride for stride with me also making his way to the land of endless knowledge. when i take the boys anywhere i become a u-haul. i had ty in the stroller, wyatt, holding the handle of the stroller so he wouldn't run loose into on coming traffic, and three bags, totaling my body weight, hanging off of me. as we got closer to the door i assumed the man would see my struggles and kindly open both doors for me, as many have in the past.
as we approach the entrance the man veered off to the left and went in the left side door, leaving me to fend for myself. by the time i had managed to open both library entrances and maneuver my u-haul through the doors the man had a movie in his hand and was striding to the service desk to check out. i then realized why he didn't help me; he was too concerned with himself. he was so focused on his task that he didn't see the need of those around him.
i began to think about my own life. am i too focused on surviving life with too little ones that i don't take the time to help someone in need. isn't that what the holiday season is about? We remember when God gave his perfect present, the ultimate sacrifice of his only Son. If He can sacrificially give that much, the least i can do is give up a second of my time to listen to someone who's hurting or open the door for an elderly person, or give food to someone who's hungry.
there are so many hurting and struggling people in the world today but often we are too focused, too consumed with the busy, insane lives that we created and like the religious leaders who looked at the robbed, beaten Samaritan, we walk by. every morning our daily creed should be may another hurting soul not go unnoticed. look around because your provision could be someones necessity.

a little sparkle

this past may a friend gave me a necklace for my birthday called what's in your heart. the necklace is a silver, clear, open heart with room to put symbols that represent what is in your heart. mine has a w, and t (for the boys initials), a small red heart that says love my boys, and the boys birthstones, garnet and opal. i love this necklace and i practically wear it everyday. but today wyatt happened to it.
since i take my jewelry off where ever i am instead of putting it in the jewelry box, i laid it on dresser and went about my day. as i was changing for bed i glanced down at the necklace and noticed that all the symbols were gone. wyatt had opened the locket and decided to play with the items inside. i looked down on the floor and found them all but the garnet. like a csi agent looking for clues, i got my flashlight and started crawling on the floor searching for this red stone. i knew that when the light hit the stone it would shine and my search would be over.
then God hit me with the end of his mag light. people in the world today are searching. they're searching for love, meaning, purpose, value, a reason to explain why we are here. when a seekers flashlight hits you the light of Christ should be glistening so bright they'll have to pull out their sunglasses just to keep looking. the church is full of nominal Christians that when light hits them nothing is reflected back. that is what the world finds so confusing. true believers in Christ need to be consistently brighter than the rest of the world so seekers will know the difference between nominal and the real deal. when the seeker sees Christ reflected they will know their search is over because now they have true meaning and purpose.
so the questions are when hit with a light will you shine? if so how bright are you shining?