One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Helen Keller when she said, “I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.”
This is the story of my life.
I dream big dreams. I long to make an impact, not just on my family but on the entire world. I imagine grand schemes and amazing moments to simply be reminded that the little things in life have significant impact as well.
Remember with me the times your friend brought you dinner, gave you a ride when your car didn’t work, helped you fix the toilet at your house, or showed up at 5am to sit with sleeping kids so you could go for a run. Maybe these things haven’t happened to you, but they have all been significant moments in my life.
Small things that make a difference – not in the entire world, but in my world. People who have loved me well.
FREE to be BRAVE = FREE to LOVE.
Galatians 5:1 tells us, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Christ has set us free. With that freedom comes privilege but also responsibility. It is a gift and God gives us direction on how to use that gift. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Christ said there were two:
- Love God
- Love others (Matthew 22:36-40).
Love being an intentional act, we have to choose who to love, how to love, and when to love. It certainly doesn’t always come naturally.
When was the last time we loved someone well who was not easy to love? When was the last time we loved someone who did not know Jesus or was not following His ways? Do we love only when it’s convenient, when we can fit it in our calendar, or do we take the time out of our own agendas to meet the needs of others?
I ask these questions because these are the questions God is asking me. Do I love others well?
Loving well is simply a choice to be BRAVE enough to listen to the needs the Holy Spirit impresses on our heart and act on those needs. He is not concerned about our comfort but about sharing himself with the world and using us to do it. So we must be BRAVE and love like Jesus!
At Planting Roots, we encourage military women to grow in their faith, to do the things God has called us to do in the place where we are. In doing so, we impact our communities. When the Lord weaves us all together, collectively we can impact a world.
Remember my heart for great and noble things? God has one too.
James Berkley says,
Volunteerism counters the fundamental selfishness that rules so many decisions. It burdens the one who has the opportunity not to be burdened but chooses to be so anyway. It doesn’t make sense, humanly speaking. Yet volunteerism is the primary means by which God’s work gets accomplished. In the best-ordered congregation, volunteers—bless their hearts— do the ministry of the church. They are the ministers. There is no church task, no ministry, no sacrament that volunteers haven’t done somewhere, sometime, somehow. And that’s how it’s supposed to be, according to the One who set up the system, issued the spiritual gifts, and rationed the time. That’s how the body functions.
WE are the Body!
Below is a list of ideas that may get your brain thinking about ways you can love others in the community God has placed you. No doubt, you have ideas to add – and we’d LOVE to hear them! The challenge is to be BRAVE, today, in this moment.
