I’m no Mother Theresa but I Can Change the World

When I was a little girl I thought I could change the world.

There was a fire burning deep inside that couldn’t be put out.

I would lie in my bed and dream about all the ways I could reach out to those around me.

I would stay up late crying out and praying for God to show me what to do.

Tell me how I could make a difference.

The possibilities were endless, because I knew my God had no limitations.

The fact that there were so many people around me who were lost in darkness, who were searching for hope, who were walking toward a destined eternity spent without God tore my little heart to pieces.

The fact that there were so many orphans in third world countries around the world who had no one to hold them, no one to love them, no one to care for them kept me on my knees many nights.

The fact that by the time I reached middle school so many of the people I knew had already turned to drugs, partying, and sex broke my heart.

That they were searching for meaning and acceptance in all the wrong places. That they kept on filling their lives with emptiness when they could fill it with the love and acceptance that only God could provide.

It was all too much for me.

Living in a world that had so much need.

But even though I was shy, I did the little things I could.

My friends and I would make pamphlets to pass out to people on the streets about God. We would walk around town and talk to the homeless people we met. We would tell them about God and try to encourage them.

When I was 13 all I dreamed about doing was going to Ukraine on a mission trip with my uncle who started and organization to help orphan children.

I begged my parents and they told me if I raised money I could. So I did. I went to a car wash for months every weekend, rain or shine. And with their help I got that ticket to see those orphans.

And that trip broke my heart a little more. Because it was nice that I got to spend a few weeks getting to know them. Caring for them. Loving them.

But it made me so sad that I couldn’t do more.

That all I could do was stop by for a few weeks and then leave.

And coming home to America opened my eyes to the truth about serving God.

I realized that my home was just as much a mission field as Ukraine, India, and Africa could be.

That there were just as many people who were in need.

In need of Christ.

In need of love.

In need of hope.

Maybe they weren’t literally orphans.

But they felt like orphans by their own parents or peers who so often neglected them, didn’t care for them as they should have, and left them to fend for themselves.

Maybe they weren’t literally homeless.

But they felt like the world was not their home, they had no place to belong, and no people to love them.

Maybe they weren’t literally hungry physically.

But they were hungry spiritually. They were starving for truth. For purpose. For meaning of life.

And that’s when I decided that my home would be my mission field.

That I wouldn’t have to worry about traveling around half the world on a plane to reach the lost when I could just travel around my own neighborhood on my own two feet.

School became my mission field.

I can’t say I made such a huge difference or that a revival started because of me.

But I decided that doing little things that no one else noticed was better than doing nothing at all.

I talked to the outcasts who didn’t have many friends. The one’s who dressed differently. The one’s who made me feel uncomfortable.

I left encouraging notes in random people’s lockers reminding them that God loved them.

I invited my friends to after school Bible studies.

I tried to make a difference. As little as could be.

My dreams were never that grand.

And the older I get the more reality sets in and I realize I’m just one human being.

I can only do so much.

But that won’t stop me from trying to reach one more person.

Especially when I see other believers who do so much for God’s kingdom.

They fill stadiums or tents with thousands of people to preach God’s Word.

They open orphanages in the poorest places of the world to help out the needy.

They form organizations to speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves.

To stop human trafficking. To prevent abortions. To help homeless people get back on their feet.

And watching them inspires me to not give up on my dreams.

To not stop giving my all because it seems too little compared to the great things people accomplish.

Becase giving all you have, no matter how small it seems, is better than not giving at all.

In Matthew (25:14-30) Jesus shares the Parable of Talents where a master gives his servants talents while he goes away on a trip and it’s their job to use those talents wisely.

One is given five, one is given two, and one is given one talent, all according to their ability and they must make the most of it.

The first two slaves used theirs wisely so that by the time their master returned they doubled the amount they originally had and he put them in charge of many things.

The last slave who had the least hid his talent and made up an excuse for not doing something with it and he was thrown out by the master for bringing him back nothing.

I don’t know why the last slave didn’t invest his one talent.

Maybe he thought it was too little.

It wouldn’t have made a difference in the larger scheme of things.

But it would have. And it mattered to the master.

Today… we’ve all been given talents to use by our own master, Jesus.

Talents we can invest in, multiply, and use.

And it’s up to us to choose what we will do with it.

Will we use it? Or will we make an excuse and hide it?

I don’t know how many “talents” you have.

For that matter, I don’t know how many I have.

But I know that I won’t waste mine.

Whether it’s five, two, or one.

See… I know that my dream of changing the world wasn’t just a childhood fantasy but a God-given dream.

Because God calls each one of us to change our little corner of the world.

One day at a time.

One person at a time.

He calls each one of us to step in and make a difference.

His call to spread the gospel to every place in the world isn’t for a select few, it’s for each one of us.

His call to help the needy, to reach out to the desperate, to give hope to the lonely isn’t just for a great missionary somewhere in the world, it’s also for you.

Maybe you won’t have a stage to speak on to reach millions like Billy Graham.

But God’s given you a stage every day to reach the one person in front of you that you see every day who doesn’t know God.

Maybe you won’t have the political authority to fight for those who are in bondage or slavery like Martin Luther King, Jr.

But God has given you a voice and opportunity to use this day to speak up for those who are in slavery today. Who are trafficked. Who are abused in their own homes. Who need someone to fight for them when they can’t fight for themselves.

Maybe you won’t be able to help little orphan children in India like Mother Theresa.

But God’s given you the opportunity to use your hands, your feet, your voice to help the destitute who are living in your hometown today.

Will you do it?

Will you be the Billy Graham who shares God’s Word to everyone in your school,  at your work, in your home?

Will you be the Martin Luther King Jr. who stands up for rights of people who are in bondage?

Will you be the Mother Theresa who makes a difference for those people in your area who are in need?

Billy Graham, Martin Luther King Jr, and Mother Theresa already used their talents.

Will you use yours today?

They can’t make a difference in this world anymore.

But you can.

One day you’ll stand before your master and He’ll ask you what you have brought Him with what He has given you.

Would He be able to say “Well done good and faithful servant” with what you would bring Him today?

God has a plan to use you.

A plan for how you can be His hands and feet to the world around you.

Let Him use you in any little way that He can.

Today, pray that God will show you how you can change your world one day at a time.

Be blessed!– Anna… ♥

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” –  Luke 12:48