tapas

so the other night i met a friend for tapas and drinks. and by drinks i mean we rocked weight watchers diet coke for me and prego ginger ale for her. that's right. wild and crazy all up in here. and can i just say i love tapas? i do. my gorgeous sister rachel introduced me to them in d.c. one summer while we were crashing a teachers convention. and by crashing i mean the teacher went to the convention and rachel and i laid by the pool and ate tapas.

so anyways the other night. we were talking. catching up. chatting. whatever. about really important sarcastic topics when the conversation turned a little more serious. she asked me what she is supposed to do. with? your life? your baby names? your cute prego jeans? what?

she said she feels like she is supposed to be doing more. more with what God has blessed her with. well...i am all over that.

she explained that she doesn't have a heart broken for the third world as i do ( oh....just wait). but that her passion lies elsewhere. with young moms. with marriages who want to do better. with moms who wonder if this is all there is. but she feels like that isn't enough. that in order to be claimed worthy she needs to have a passion for the "big" issues.

um. sweetie. those are big issues. those are huge issues.

i told her with sullen eyes. that i have an easier time walking the streets of africa. than i do having a hard conversation with my husband. i feel more comfortable fighting for the rights of children and women with hiv than dealing with the moms in the neighborhoods in our area.

i told her. you see. we can't all have the same passions. Christ did not call for all of us to do the same things. but He did call us. He called us to serve. He called us to love. He asked us to die to ourselves.

she asked where? where do i start? how? without feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of hurting around us. we tend to freeze. to not do anything. to ignore the pain. the suffering. the loneliness.

i asked her to start with one thing. to make a list of those around you who could use a prayer. a note. a meal. a phone call. even a text. to know that they matter.to know someone can carry a burden. to know someone is willing to help you walk it.

start there. start small. but start.

whatever you do, do all to the glory of God 1 corinthians 10:31