Being busy is a way of life for most Americans today. We are all busy. Very busy.
This, however, cannot be an excuse to not care for others. All of us can care for one person. And caring for one is better than caring for none.
Years ago I was a youth leader at the church I was attending at the time. Every now and then we would have a night called “Tacos and Testimonies.” It was always my favorite night because of how open and honest the teens were, always willing to be so vulnerable.
It moved me to see how much heartache these young people were enduring- a broken home, broken relationships, low self esteem, etc.
The bottom line was always that most of these teenagers were dealing with a deep loneliness.
There was one testimony that will forever stay with me…
It came from a well put together, shy teenage boy who came from an affluent home. He shared that he struggled with a low self image and feelings of loneliness. He had attempted suicide several times but failed.
Then, just a few weeks before, he had finally given up all hope and was going to try to kill himself again, determined to succeed this time. He said he was sitting on the edge of a bridge, late at night, ready to jump at the sight of the next train.
Then his phone buzzed. He doesn’t know why he even bothered checking it, but he did.
It was a text message from another young man in our youth group. The text simply said, “Hey man. Was just thinking about you. How are you?”
These simple words captured his heart… Someone actually cares for me, he thought.
He answered truthfully. One text led to another until finally the two boys were on the phone praying together.
That one text saved this young man’s life.
His life was saved by one person reaching out and caring for him.
This is a true story.
A story like this happens every single day. The sad truth is that not every individual gets a text, or a phone call or a knock on the door. They continue to feel alone, isolated, un-loved, un-wanted until they decide they can’t take it anymore.
People are hurting. People are lonely. People feel isolated.
You can make a difference in their life.
As Christians, we need to have our eyes and ears open to the people God has placed around us. Don’t let appearances deceive you. Just reach out. A phone call, an email, a facebook message, and/or a text. There are many options these days, “I’m too busy” can’t be an excuse.
Dig a little.
Ask questions.
Ask more questions.
Invite others.
Be intentional.
Love others genuinely.
Just do it.
Today.
Yes, we are all “busy”, but all of us have time to reach out to at least one.
Is there someone in your life that you can reach out to? Just do it. Today.
“Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.“~ Colossians 3:12
Tweens,thanks for being real!!!!!!! Love in JESUS,mary
There’s no other way to be Mary:) Love you sis~
LOVE this, spot on as always girl! Thank you for reminding us of something that we should already know, but far too often don’t act upon! May we go about our days with Jesus’s eyes and ears! Thank you friend, may our Lord continue to bless the fruit of your hands!
Sherry your continuous support is a big blessing to me. Thank you sweet sister. I imagine reading my blogs must bless you because you are witness to God’s mighty work in me. You have seen first hand the miracle He did in my life. What a joy to share with the world now through this blog.
I am forever grateful to you for being Jesus with flesh on to me at a time when I desperately needed to know
Him.
Love you lots~
Tweeny
Awesome. Such a simple act makes such a difference. Thanks for reminding me what we are called to do…love one another.
Thank you my dear husband. God has been so good to us. It’s nice for us to give back to others by sharing the love of Christ with others. Love you~
Tweeny, thanks for the reminder. God has been speaking to me about not being so busy that I don’t have the time/energy to be sensitive to those who are hurting. A few days ago I copied and pasted a list of questions to help guide us to who to call, text, facebook message, DM, etc. I’m sure Sharon will not mind me sharing the link to her website. It’s http://bit.ly/Mw40TY
Edythe,
Thank you so much for taking the time to check out and comment on my blog. I really appreciate you doing this. I have checked out Sharon’s blog and am already subscribing to it. Again thank you!!!
Tweeny 🙂
This does happen more often then we think. Just the other night I drove over to a friends house to check on her teenage daughter, who was home alone and wrote some life threatening things on Facebook. Turned out she really was hurt because her boyfriend broke up with her. My daughter Holly was concerned and kinda pushed me out the door to double check and make sure she did not do anything foolish. Thank the Lord for Holly. She said, if there was a chance our friend’s daughter was in danger and we did nothing….. what would the Lord think? Thanks for reminding us to be the Good Samaritan.
Thanks for sharing this Rachel. We just never know how bad of a place someone is and often it doesn’t take too much to reach out. 🙂
“Hi, how are you?”
“Fine, how are you?”
“Fine, great!”
Isn’t that the way it goes? BUT if I will pause and linger only a few seconds more, a person will
share what’s really going on in his or her life! Thanks, Tweeny, for reminding us to do this – be Christ to others!
Debbie-it’s so easy isn’t it? We have to be intentional and dig a little deeper.Thanks for sharing my friend:)