Sometimes I think God must be sleeping

My twenty-somethings are upstairs getting cleaned up after a rousing game of K-Stateopoly.

Howard is at work and doesn't mind that I work part-time and still fumble through schedules and driving around Cypress.

We are well fed.

Our cars run and we are safe in our beds.

And yet sometimes I wonder if God is not doing his job; asleep, otherwise occupado.

Why?

Because I read the news where an attorney – while commenting on a crackdown on child trafficking in Georgia – details what she has seen, http://www.macon.com/2013/03/18/2401470/georgia-announces-child-sex-trafficking.html.

Because as I read the news, listen to friends, read blogs, and drive around this huge new town with its wealth of strip clubs and all of the shackles that puts on a mind and a man and a family…it just keeps coming; grim statistics, hungry people, the weak and the broken, the innocent reviled, the abuser set free. 

I don't know what to make of it sometimes.

I know that life is so temporary and death is certain.  My friend, Diane, once told me that she thinks God sees death differently than we do and that for some – it is a relief. No more crying, no more pain, no more shackles for them.

There have been too many times when death seemed welcome when the present physical or heart/soul-crushing brokenness seemed too much to bear. 

And then moments like today when we picked up on a K-Stateopoly game that began last night as Howard kept watch. Or crashing into the cold salty waves after a delicious meal with the newly arrived Madi. 

Or the quiet of a song sung by an imperfect loner king so many years ago that speaks just to my heart today. 

Sometimes, I wonder if God is doing his job.

And right now, I wonder if I am – we are – doing our jobs.

Do we reach across the aisle to even listen to the heart and thoughts of an "enemy"?

Do we expect others to yield to our desires before we consider bending towards their wished-for outcomes?

What are we doing to make our thoughts, home, neighborhood, city, state, country…world any healthier?

Somewhat dramatic, but think about it. 

Why are we waiting around on God to do all the work, when we are unwilling to acknowledge or mop up our own messes?

Perhaps God is not asleep. 

Maybe we are.

Awake Oh Sleeper. A world awaits your healing handiwork.

Want to get involved & wondering where to start?
Call your local school, church, synagogue, elder care facility, homeless shelter, Habitat for Humanity or police department. They might be able to steer you towards an existing initiative that needs you and your unique strengths.

Pray (always pray.) You ask, God leads.

Ask your friends if they volunteer or serve and then see if you can join in. You don't need to do this solo.

Check out the Adventures in Missions options at www.Adventures.org.

Remember: you are not locked into something that you tried and did not have a good fit. There are more needs out there than there are hearts and hands willing to work.

You may find that listening to your family, doing your best at your job, smiling at the folks on the train, or picking up the trash you pass on the way to school or work is your day's great contribution.

Give it your best shot. You may change the world in the process.