THE GIFT OF MISFITS
It has always been my thinking that the kingdom of God is here on earth, (Luke 17:21) and that each of us is tasked with the purpose of helping others to make it a living reality. We all have been given gifts to share.
When you are depressed or feeling down the easiest way to lift your spirits is to help someone else. That is always a win-win situation. It helps the person you help, and it brings you happiness as well.
There have been times in my life when the future was more than a little uncertain. Yet I was blessed by the help of people not expected to help me or help me at the life-changing level they did. One was my high school chemistry teacher who secured a scholarship for me to attend UC Berkeley. At that time, state scholarships were available to only one in a family and my older sister had gotten one. So, this scholarship enabled me to have the career I did have. Another was a Kaiser Ombudsman. She moved mountains to get the best possible care for my husband in his time of need even bending some rules to do so. She also put me in touch with a woman who suffered from ALS and was living on a ventilator and feeding tube as was my husband who had even more tubing. This Christian woman with ALS gave me the courage to bring my husband home and create my in-home ICU. These people are friends of mine to this day. Also, there is the loving support I have received and continue to receive from my church friends and my neighbors without which my life would not be so enriched.
Are these people misfits? Well, they are not blood relatives who might feel obligated to help. They are simply loving people who were at the right place at the right time to consciously choose to help without any obligation to do so. They simply saw a need and filled it. We too can do that for one another (Mt.19:19). God gives us ample opportunities to make a significant difference in the lives of others. May we avail ourselves of these opportunities to participate in this loving kingdom here and now.
The relay baton has been put in your hand to run the race as long as you can before passing it on. Enjoy the race. Or to paraphrase John Wesley, do all the good you can for as long as you can.
Prayer: Dear God, we are grateful for the gifts you have given us in abundance to share with others in need. Open our hearts to these opportunities for service. Amen
Dorothy Northey