Practical or Philosophical??

Yesterday one of my 16 year olds asked me a very thought provoking question.

"Mom, how should we live each day? If Jesus is coming back any second and people all over the world are dying without Him, should we not DO something?"

Wow, when I was sixteen, I think my biggest concern was what I was going to DO on Friday night!

I'm impressed with her line of thinking, but terrified that she asked me this question!

The more we discussed it, the more confused, frustrated, and passionate we both got. I have read amazing books like Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey and The God Who is There by Frances Schaffer. I know that somehow we all have to figure out how to sit at the feet of Jesus, like Mary, when there are dishes, diapers, laundry, and LIFE waiting to be done!

I know it is not a works mentality and that all of our "righteous" doings are as filthy rags before the throne of Christ. However, if you ask God to break your heart for the things that break His, He will. I know - I have done it. And if I am honest with myself (and with you), sometimes I wish I hadn't! Not because I don't want to care or to feel, but because caring and feeling hurts too much! I ask God to give me His eyes to see the hurts around me and my mind is filled with images of little girls, the age of my daughter being raped night after night by grown men who should know better just to line the pockets of some pimp in the industry of sex trafficking. I see pregnant teenage girls strapped on an operating table in a Planned Parenthood office while a doctor who took an oath to save lives murders her baby. I see couples, who stood at an alter and promised to love each other "until death do us part" screaming hurtful words at each other, words filled with malice and hate that wreak havoc on the lives of their children and brings misery to themselves. I see earthquake victims in Haiti, crushed and bleeding - then rescued and starving. I see children in African orphanages without enough food or clean water, dying of curable diseases. I see homeless men and women on the streets of Chicago, New York, Washington, my town. People who used to have homes and families.

I know each person represented from the unborn baby to the oldest man has a story. They are all made in the image of God and they matter.

The problem is, what am I going to do about it? What can I do about it? The needs are overwhelming and sometimes I feel paralyzed. I feel like a deer in the headlights, standing still, waiting to get smashed by the cruelty of life on this earth. Waiting...wanting to move, to act, to make a difference, but not able to. I feel like my feet are planted too deep. I feel stuck.

My sixteen year old feels the same way, and yet, she still has the flush of youth on her face. Some days she has the "conquer the world" attitude! She is young, no responsibilities, and free to answer God's call on her life! It is an exciting time. Yet the overwhelming misery in our world threatens to consume even the young people - full of life and promise. The enemy of our souls prowls around, spreading seeds of discouragement and fear in their hearts. He wants them paralyzed, just like he wants me that way. He wants us all to say "I can't do it all, so I will do nothing." Instead, we should say, "I can't do everything, but I can do something."

Together, we can make a difference.

My daughter is more practical, like my husband. Like him, she thinks about the things that must be done - like paying the bills, doing math homework, and mowing the grass. Me, I have a hard time concentrating on the practical. My mind is in the clouds somewhere - or rather, in Africa somewhere, most of the time. The laundry and the dishes are inconsequential to me. I am not proud of my domestic skills - if you saw my house, you would agree that I have nothing to be proud of, but I do know that it takes all kinds of people to make the world go around. Some of us have ideas and some of us carry them out. However, none of us can get so caught up in one that we let the other go completely.

Jesus said that Mary had chosen what was best....sitting at His feet and not worrying. However, if Martha had not made dinner, everyone would have been hungry. We live in a "Martha" world, but somehow we have to find a way to literally live here, on earth, knowing that our citizenship is in heaven. Acknowledging that our God is the Creator of all and it all belongs to Him anyway.

Can you mesh the two? I think you can - in fact, I think we must. Do I do it perfectly? Not by any stretch of the imagination! I am begging God for wisdom in this area - asking Him now to not only open my eyes to the pain around me, but help me zero in my focus to the things He has planned for me. I can't do it all, but He can! If we all live the life He gave us, and do the things He asks us to do - all the while living a life of adoration and worship, joy will abound.

Lord, you promise wisdom to all who seek it and joy to all who are completely sold out to you. Thank you for that promise.