Do I feel Guilty?

I've been home for a few days now and have slowly been processing everything I experienced and observed in India, and it's slowly coming together. There was so much thrown at us at one time, it is hard to wrap my brain around it, so I will take the next week or so to process outloud here on my blog.

I thought I had seen poverty - I've been on many mission trips to help people in poverty, but what I saw in India was an entirely different level of poverty. Most of the people we were around had what we would consider nothing, but when we would come to their house (or hut) to visit, they would offer us all they had. There was joy and a simplicity that made me almost envious, and has inspired me, once again, to simplify my life and get rid of clutter and unnecessary things.

So I was showing pictures to some of my family and they were shocked at the way people live - mud huts, cement block shacks with thatched roofs, kitchens on the floor, and raw sewage creeks running past their homes - and an interesting question was posed to me . . .

. . . "Do you feel guilty?". - What she meant was, after seeing and experiencing the extreme poverty in India, did I feel guilty for all of the things and all of the resources I have here in America? At first I couldn't really answer, it took me a couple of hours to mull it over - and my answer surprised me.

No - I don't feel GUILTY.

What I do feel is a RESPONSIBILITY.

A responsibility to use the resources God has given me to care for people, point them to Jesus and make the world a better to place. When I talk about resources, I don't mean just money, but gifts that God has given each of us that we can offer others. Every single one of us has them and we're all different.

Some of my gifts are that I love to travel, experience different cultures, and I'm very strong and adaptable in just about any situation. Those are gifts that God can use if I'm willing to get out of my comfort zone and let him use them. And those are gifts that I plan on using and developing throughout my life. I would love to live somewhere outside of America some day and do missions full time, but my husband doesn't share that same passion - so I will go on short term missions every time I have a chance because I know that is what God has wired me for. Maybe some day I can talk him into doing at least 6 months somewhere!

So when you see pictures on my blog, hear stories of other hurting people, or see starving kids on TV that need your help, don't feel guilty! Just look inside yourself and ask what you might be able to do to help, because we all have gifts that God has given us to make the world a better place. It might be that your gift is not in helping people half way across the world, but helping your neighbors, or one of your kid's friends who has a rough home life, or a family member who is down and out.

The whole world is a mission field - and this includes our own back yard. Don't think you have to travel half way across the world to make a difference - you can make a difference no matter where you're at! So I challenge you to open your eyes, look around, and see where you can make a difference - I guarantee there are people all around you waiting for you to wake up and notice them!