Daily Rebecca

Do you ever hear tragic news about the state of the world and get so overwhelmed at the idea of trying to help that you just give up?

I do.

Or at least I used to.

I used to flip the channel when the starving children commercials came on TV because it was just too sad and made me feel too helpless so it was easier to look away than to consider what I could do.

I’d hear about hurricanes and refugees and orphans and the homeless and I’d mentally change channels because it made me uncomfortable.

Then I learned what a privilege it is that I can just choose not to think about it and I DON’T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT.

Do you get that?

I’m so privileged that I can choose to ignore those problems and go about my shiny life without a second thought.

But what about the people who are living in those circumstances?

They can’t just decide not to “think about it anymore” because it’s their reality.  It’s their life.  It’s the barrel of the gun they are staring down every.single.day.

But guess what?

I can do something about it.

I don’t have to, but I GET TO.

I get to help change the world!!!

Isn’t that wonderful??

I can play a small part in making a difference in someone’s life.

And I can do it over and over and over and over again until I’ve made lots of small changes in lots of someone’s lives.

And YOU can do it too!

Imagine that each of our small contributions are drops of water…like from a leaky faucet.

Come on, you know that annoying sound.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

You grab a bucket to catch them, thinking it’s not much water but you’ll collect it just to see.

Tomorrow you come back and the bucket is half full!

Don’t ask me how I know this, but it has something to do with the basement shower in our old house.  I’ll leave it at that! ;)

Ok, so back to our little tiny contributions.  They are like drops of water they will fill buckets if we keep adding them.

Imagine how much faster we’d fill buckets if we told a friend and they started adding their drops of water too.

We’d have buckets and buckets of water for a thirsty and dying world!

That’s what I’m proposing with this blog post…

We can do something about the hurting people in our world and we should be doing something.  Especially if we are Christians.

The word Christian literally means “little Jesus”.  We are supposed to be little Jesus’s walking around this earth doing what he did.

Loving.  Serving.  Giving.  Feeding.  Healing.

He isn’t documented as going to church every Sunday and living in the right neighborhood and voting a certain way and living a moral life.

No, he’s documented as sharing meals with the underdog and the criminal and the prostitute.  He’s documented as calling the crooked tax collector out of the tree and having dinner at his house that night.  He’s documented as speaking healing and hope into the life of the loose woman drawing water from the local well.  He’s documented as multiplying a little boy’s lunch to feed thousands of hungry men, women, and children.

Let’s be like him.

Not the him the modern day church has created, but the him who actually lived and who actually changed the whole world forever.

Let’s love the people everyone looks away from and becomes uncomfortable around.

Let’s do it so extravagantly that people ask us why on earth we are spending so much of our time, energy, and resources on people who can’t give us anything in return.

Then, let’s tell them it’s because that’s what Jesus did.

Let’s tell them he did that and he loves us so much that it has turned us inside out and the least we can do is pay it forward to others who need that kind of love.

Let’s tell them that loving the way Jesus did points people to him and that’s the only direction worth going.

Let’s change the world.

Here are 5 EASY ways to get started changing the world.  There are a million other things you can add to this and there are a million other ways to give face to face and to give until it feels like a sacrifice.

But sometimes we need baby steps.

Little, easy things we can do to start adding drops to the bucket.

So, I challenge you to read this list and pick just ONE.

ONE easy way you can start changing the world TODAY.

I’ll warn you….giving like this is addicting.  You’ll experience so much joy, you’ll want to keep going ;)

 1. Donate to International Justice Mission (IJM)

IJM does unprecedented work to rescue people from human trafficking and slavery.  Any dollar donated to IJM is a dollar spent wisely!! Your dollar will help rescue someone who is living in a nightmare every single day.  Consider donating $24 per month to become an IJM Freedom Partner.  That’s the cost of about 6 small lattes!  Click HERE to learn more!

2. Sponsor a child through Food For The Hungry

Food For The Hungry provides life-changing resources like food, water, medicine, and education to people in poverty around the world.  One thing I love about FH is how they educate families on agriculture and the importance of a nutrient-rich diet.  Children who once were malnourished from a diet of only one crop are now healthy and thriving because their families have been taught HOW and WHY to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables.  For $35 each month you can sponsor a child and change their life forever.  Click HERE to learn more.

3. Sponsor a child through Compassion International

For over 65 years Compassion International has been committed to helping millions of children around the world.  They are a charity with utmost integrity and proven results.  They are committed to the focus on children, partner with local churches to make a big impact around the world.

3. A Wider Circle

A Wider Circle is an incredible charity local to the DC Metro area.  Their mission is to eliminate poverty and they go about doing it by furnishing thousands of homes each year with items in dignity condition (no rips, stains, or defects) for FREE.  They also provide comprehensive career coaching and professional clothing to their clients.  How can you rise out of poverty when you don’t have a bed to sleep in or the skills needed to apply for a well-paying job?  You can’t.  But when you partner with AWC you can!  Click HERE to donate to their mission.

4. Preemptive Love

Preemptive Love’s primary mission is to help refugees.  They meet families on the frontlines of conflict, providing them lifesaving food, water, and medical care.  They create jobs for those victimized by ISIS and provide small business grants, tools, and coaching so refugees and their families can recover from the devastating effect of war and violence and once again flourish.  Click HERE to donate to Preemptive Love.

5. Give to your local church food pantry 

Many churches have a food pantry ministry that serves their congregation and the local community.  Consider buying an extra bag of groceries to contribute to their work!