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"pure and undefiled religion
in the sight of the Father is this,
to visit orphans and widows,
to visit orphans and widows,
in their distress,
and to keep oneself
unstained by the world..." james 1:27
i remember like it was yesterday waking up from my sleeping bag on the hard gym floor...i stepped quietly not to wake anyone else and slipped outside to the steps of the schoolhouse that served as my home part of that summer...i enjoyed the heavy clouds that rested on the mountains that morning, grateful for the cool dampness, the grey-blue haze of the early morning hours, i knew all too soon the temperatures would soar in the low hundreds again, just in time i thought for us to finish the tin roof that day...
i remember most the faces of the children...i remember thinking in my simplistic teenage mind, how could this still be America? i've always heard about conditions like this, but not in my own country, this is the land of privilege, the land of blessing, prosperity and wealth...how could people exist with no running water, floors of dirt, and walls of newspaper? did these people have the same dreams we all do? did they have the same hurts we had? were they really unlike us at all? i didn't choose to be from a middle class family, they didn't choose poverty; they didn't choose to be left as orphans in a society that values getting over giving; they didn't choose...but you know what, neither did we, but we have within us the power of choice...
that summer in Elkins Branch, West Virginia, a proud town, with a rich history of coal mining, my view of the world became much smaller and at the same time much broader; my view of the fact that as one little 15 year old, i could actually touch some one's life if only for a moment in a real and tangible way became a reality; i had the ability to impact someone just by a simple act of kindness and selflessness, by making a home warmer, safer and drier...on days when i'm "too big for my britches" as my grandpa would say, i keep the photo above of those children that lived in this particular home that summer as a constant reminder that my purpose must constantly focus outward not inward...it's hard some days being in the land of the free to keep my eyes on Him and what He has for me to accomplish in this life; saying that however only humbles me, thinking that i haven't know hardship like others we are commanded to minister to. I'm not a great orator, i stumble or get emotional when i try to say something profound or heartfelt; heck, i cry at the end of every episode of extreme home makeover...but i can swing a hammer, hold a paint brush, gather clothes or blankets, i can raise money, i can go and just wrap my arms around a child and in my heart never let them go...i can...more importantly, i will...
more recently my heart has turned back to my desire to minister to the orphans in romania and the former soviet union; it's been an unfulfilled passion on my heart, but not for much longer i pray...even if it's just holding one of them in my arms, i feel i will have touched the heart of God; and that is what i long for expectantly...
while i may remain unstained by the world, as james says, my heart is permanently stained by His love...
below is a short video - please take a moment to view it and ask yourself what you can do - maybe your passion lies else where, that's ok, just take the time, purpose in your heart to do whatever it takes to fulfill that God given passion in your lifetime - i promise you will never regret it...and neither will the people who receive your touch...
unstained by the world..." james 1:27
i remember like it was yesterday waking up from my sleeping bag on the hard gym floor...i stepped quietly not to wake anyone else and slipped outside to the steps of the schoolhouse that served as my home part of that summer...i enjoyed the heavy clouds that rested on the mountains that morning, grateful for the cool dampness, the grey-blue haze of the early morning hours, i knew all too soon the temperatures would soar in the low hundreds again, just in time i thought for us to finish the tin roof that day...
i remember most the faces of the children...i remember thinking in my simplistic teenage mind, how could this still be America? i've always heard about conditions like this, but not in my own country, this is the land of privilege, the land of blessing, prosperity and wealth...how could people exist with no running water, floors of dirt, and walls of newspaper? did these people have the same dreams we all do? did they have the same hurts we had? were they really unlike us at all? i didn't choose to be from a middle class family, they didn't choose poverty; they didn't choose to be left as orphans in a society that values getting over giving; they didn't choose...but you know what, neither did we, but we have within us the power of choice...
that summer in Elkins Branch, West Virginia, a proud town, with a rich history of coal mining, my view of the world became much smaller and at the same time much broader; my view of the fact that as one little 15 year old, i could actually touch some one's life if only for a moment in a real and tangible way became a reality; i had the ability to impact someone just by a simple act of kindness and selflessness, by making a home warmer, safer and drier...on days when i'm "too big for my britches" as my grandpa would say, i keep the photo above of those children that lived in this particular home that summer as a constant reminder that my purpose must constantly focus outward not inward...it's hard some days being in the land of the free to keep my eyes on Him and what He has for me to accomplish in this life; saying that however only humbles me, thinking that i haven't know hardship like others we are commanded to minister to. I'm not a great orator, i stumble or get emotional when i try to say something profound or heartfelt; heck, i cry at the end of every episode of extreme home makeover...but i can swing a hammer, hold a paint brush, gather clothes or blankets, i can raise money, i can go and just wrap my arms around a child and in my heart never let them go...i can...more importantly, i will...
more recently my heart has turned back to my desire to minister to the orphans in romania and the former soviet union; it's been an unfulfilled passion on my heart, but not for much longer i pray...even if it's just holding one of them in my arms, i feel i will have touched the heart of God; and that is what i long for expectantly...
while i may remain unstained by the world, as james says, my heart is permanently stained by His love...
below is a short video - please take a moment to view it and ask yourself what you can do - maybe your passion lies else where, that's ok, just take the time, purpose in your heart to do whatever it takes to fulfill that God given passion in your lifetime - i promise you will never regret it...and neither will the people who receive your touch...
