The Cry of the Poor

Ladies of the village leaving church in Tegucigalpa, Honduras 2010

First, you are shocked to the sole of your sneakers–two blog posts in one week…the next shocker is they are actually back-to-back.

I got convicted.

I believe with all my heart that God ignited this ministry–this work in me when I started this blog (all things leading up to this point were crucial in the development of what I am for HIM today). (Same for you friend…stop and think about your journey up to now.)

I believe that HE uses blogs–to teach, to show, to develop us into usable vessels.  I read other blogs and sit back and say, “Wow.  That is a real great thought line into the Word”….or –I might say, “I wish I could “cook” like Amy–or develop awesome graphics like Lori—but I can’t—

What I CAN do is write what He lays on my heart.  So…–after praying through about being ABSENT….here goes:

It’s hot weather…the hottest I can remember since Cambodia–and in Siem Reap, Cambodia,  it IS what we could REALLY claim as hot…but even though the weather is hot, my mind is rambling down the road a piece–toward Christmas.

It makes me cooler to think “Christmas”.

(Stop laughing.)  A really good evening for me –pop in a movie that has lots of snow…and windy weather…and hey, I’m set!  (I’m not kidding–you can ask Jeff.)

One night recently, I popped in the movie, “Day After Tomorrow”…which is a personal favorite.  Don’t ask me why…I’m just weird like that.

One thing I discovered this time (I discover something new almost every time I watch a movie), with all the loss of life—no one seemed overly distressed.

I mean–there were hundreds of thousands of people who died.  I told Jeff, it amazed me that you didn’t see anyone–especially the “officials” doubled over in anguish over the death toll.

Oh, right.  Maybe they “were”–Hollywood just didn’t show that part!

It makes me all the more realize the fact that so many of us are numb to the plight of the world.

Remember the blind boy in Bolivia? His mom’s name is Angie

We see them…but we try not to.

We hear them…but we close off our ears…and eventually our heart.

I’m not really talking about the panhandlers we see at the local Walmart–or intersections to the Interstate Exits (a personal favorite of the panhandlers in the south)…

I’m talking about those who struggle to put one foot in front of the other.

Those whose faces bear the scars of life–by the emptiness in their eyes.

You find them in the check-out at the grocery store.

You find them next to you pumping gas…they stop at $10, while you (and me) can sometimes fill our tank.  Their tank is on “get by mode”.  Just like their lives.

If a disaster struck tomorrow–those with empty eyes and lives–would we think about them? (I’m now thinking of the horrific fires in Colorado.  We’ve had rains–and I’ve wished and prayed for it to be sent to them!)

To be honest–I have a difficult time after a mission trip.  I have problems with those panhandlers–those looking for life with their hand outstretched, or a cardboard sign in front of their chest reading “Will Work For Food”  (really?)  (I do know of some who tried to take them up on the offer of work…and they politely declined the work…)  (Don’t send me “hate mail”, I do realize there are those who are “for real”…and it’s not their second job.  However, here in our little city, we have the same 4 that rotate out.  I’ve watched them shift change.)

I have problems with those of us who “waste” food…knowing that there are countless people–REALLY hungry… who would dig through our garbage if we lived next to them.

But then, life begins to assert itself back into our hearts and thoughts….and those hungry…remain hungry.

Until we decide we can do something for them.  No, we may not can run to the other side of the world with a bucket of chicken–but we can support groups like “Convoy of Hope”, whose mission is feeding people.  We can support Mission of Mercy and Compassion International–who do the same–they feed the body and care for the soul.

When I came home from Honduras–my very first mission trip…I was at once overtaken by the fact that I was blessed with so much.  Not a bank account overflowing (we are as most everyone–paying the bills), but I have blessings of family...friends…food…a comfortable bed…an air conditioner in the summer and heater in the winter.  I realized with renewed heart what I had to be thankful for!

You don’t have to travel to a foreign country to realize your blessings…just open your eyes and look around.

Then open your heart–and listen to see what God tells you to do about what you see.

Proverbs 21:13 says, If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, 

he too will cry out and not be answered.”

I recently read a devotion and now can’t remember what or where–but the gist is this:

There are many things we cannot do in the world around us–and taking on the sorrow of all would bear down on us such a weight we could no longer stand (Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted-Isaiah 53:4)….but daily–by giving our burdens to the ONE who can carry all–we do what HE assigns us to do.  

For those who cross our paths–minister love and care.  We cannot do the job of our Savior, but we can pray–we can give–and we can put all our faith and trust in HIM who never fails.

Whatever we face in the morning…we should keep in mind–there are those who face the same and worse.  (This is a reminder for myself.)

Let’s keep our hearts, eyes, ears open to the cry of the poor….

© Angie Knight- The Knightly News