I am Blessed!

I recently moved to Tulsa, OK because my husband's job got relocated. When I was in Kansas I had the opportunity to work with homeless youth with my first job. It was a dream job in so many ways, I got to work with youth that had left home or never had a home at a young age and were forced to face the world alone when most teenagers still had a family to guide and direct them. It broke my heart to know that in my own backyard there were teenagers who didn't have a place to call home. I had a similar experience with the work that I have done through Unveiled Women's Ministry in Uganda, Africa. I will never forget the way I felt when I say thousands of kids without families, with out a home, and with out the love that they desperately needed and desired. My next job in Kansas was with the same organization, only with a slightly different population. I worked with youth that were in the foster care system that were getting ready to "age out" of the system and had no place to go. These teenagers opened my eyes to a whole new problem that existed in my own country, that I was once blinded too.

I am now in Tulsa, OK and am starting a new program at a church for adults with special needs. To be honest, I never thought about families who had adult children still at home that they daily took care of. I never thought of how some parents never get to know what it is like to have an "empty nest." Yet again the Lord has opened my eyes to a different struggle that people face on a daily basis.

As I wake up each morning and go through out my day, I do not forget these faces and the challenges that they meet. I carry in my heart homeless youth, African orphans, youth in the foster care system, and adults with special needs. I daily think to myself, "Lord why have I been given so much?"

I have learned more from spending hours with different people and hearing their challenges then my years in school. Suddenly, I look at my life and think about the "challenges" that I daily face and almost laugh. When I think about a mother in Africa that is making a decision on which child to feed because the food is almost out and there is not enough for the whole family. When I think about a young homeless girl who is deciding if she is going to compromise herself and her body so that she has somewhere to sleep for a few days. When I think about a youth in the foster care system who has no idea what the next day will bring and their whole life is determined by a court system. When I think about a family who puts everything they have into caring for their adult child, I no longer see my life as "challenged."

I have found that the thing that brings me the most joy in life is to give to others. I have yet to find happiness in any material possession I have obtained. I want my life to be devoted to spending as much time loving people and listening to their needs.

I believe the Lord has brought so much attention to the suffering in the world for a reason. I want my life to matter and in the end I want to know that I did everything I could for the Kingdom of God in my time on earth.

Please join me in praying for ways that we can meet the needs of so many hurting people.