What SEE versus what we ACKNOWLEDGE

Our eyes have seen many things in our lifetime; a clear blue sky, rainbows, butterflies, a winter's first snow fall, the city , scenery,  the faces of so many people that we love, don’t know, or even dislike. These images we see everyday mean nothing to us unless we can connect them to a memory, a feeling, a sound, or a taste. We all have what you could call a selective memory. We choose what things we decide to make important or unimportant. What actions we choose to make based upon what we have seen is what I want to expand on. An attractive person male or female with tan skin, pearly white teeth, with sparkling eyes and great smelling hair dressed in the latest trend might be more appealing to our senses than the the smelly, hairy, haven’t showered in months homeless beggar on the street corner. Yet, which one seems to be in more need of our friendship and help? When did it become more important for us to date the most attractive person versus the all around better person? Might I add that looks fade in time… not meaning to be cliché of course? What is it about a person with a deathly illness that makes us automatically consider them a lost cause, unimportant, and not in need of our friendship, Or even worse, judging them for a sickness that they can’t even control having. Can we actually bring ourselves to acknowledge the mentally handicapped person sitting beside us on the bus and say hello? What makes it so hard?

Where have all the good people gone?

I know we all get that feeling in our gut to extend our hand and our friendship out to those people when we see them but most of us never actually listen to our burning conscience and acknowledge those people. I understand that we and our time are spread thin with the demanding lifestyles we all live; with work, school, kids, marriage, church, soccer games… est. BUT I don’t think that’s why we don’t acknowledge those opportunities’ of giving of ourselves to others, I think we are all too scared! We have become too scared to feel something more. We know that those people give us an opportunity to feel something more than we’ve probably ever felt in our whole lives. Why are you scared? We are human and we were meant to love, live, feel, cry, grow. Why are we scared to do just that? Get back to the basics when all that mattered was who you were as far as your character and what you are made of. We are not made heroes by doing NOTHING with what we have… but by doing SOMETHING with what we have been blessed to have or given. We have been taught right from wrong and we know what to do but acknowledging what we are seeing and taking action against the unjust in this world takes a better person than most.


Show me what you’re made of.

I challenge everyone reading this blog to go with your gut this month when the opportunity arises to show yourself what you’re capable of giving to someone else. Giving of ourselves is scary but worth it. I promise you’ll feel better when you take the time to help the elderly lady load her groceries in her car, the lost puppy back home, pick up the trash that someone left on this beautiful earth we have been given, make the financially struggling friend a meal OR befriend those deathly sick, mentally or physically handicapped… give back a percentage of what you have been given. We’ve all been given the tools to be someone’s hero. After all wouldn’t it be more amazing to take with you when you die the fact you’ve made a difference in someone’s life and leave a legacy than taking and leaving nothing with you besides the fact that you always knew you had cool toys and were well taken care of, or always made it on time to the soccer game?

Giving Service is Contagious.

When you give the example of being selfless it spreads like a wildfire. You become someone else’s hero when you show them how to make someone else feel loved. They get to see the miracle in action and they in return feel less afraid to give of themselves because if everyone else is doing it, it’s cool. It makes it easier for others to become more giving of themselves once they have had that one fearless person show them the way. Christ has given us the perfect example… he is my hero and I cannot deny what is right because of him. When I get the burning feeling to help someone in need I have to… because he has given me so much, I would be deeply ungrateful not to give back to his children. Not only that but its what’s right and ill walk away feeling better about myself than when I have denied that urge to help someone else. Be the type of person everyone is proud to call friend… the one who would give someone the shirt off their back. It will make you feel better about whom you are as a person every time.