All Fired Up To Do Something
Late one night (because I’m a night owl and not a morning person) I was up watching an online video after the kids and Tom had gone to bed. It was former Pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL, giving one of his phenomenal weekly sermons.
I remember he referenced a cartoon I never watched, but that many of you may be familiar with: Popeye the Sailor Man. Bill said Popeye had a habit of getting angry and keeping that anger bottled up inside until finally he couldn’t take it any longer. He’d be so upset, red in the face, and at his boiling point, he would shout out: “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”
Bill used that illustration to ask the congregation what they got fired up about. What was the one thing, the one injustice, the one cruelty or evil action that stirred their insides, made them red in the face, made their blood boil, or made them cry because their hearts just absolutely broke each time they thought about it? What was the one thing that made them want to shout: “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”?
He was encouraging the congregation to put their fingers on that one thing, and then go and do something about it. He was encouraging intentional action on the part of the church to impact and change lives. He was asking the church members to be the hands and feet of Christ in this world.
It was a deep question. I hadn’t really considered it before. But that night, as I pondered what stirred me up, lit my fire, or broke my heart, I kept coming back to one thing. I absolutely can’t stand the idea of children going to bed night after night on empty stomachs. Starving children – children without their basic needs met for the sustainment of life – broke my heart and brought instant tears to my eyes. It still does.
I listened to Bill Hybel’s call to action and God’s prompting on my heart that night to get up and do something about it. I remember going downstairs and texting a friend of mine in Michigan who I knew sponsored children in an under-developed nation. I decided to ask her a few questions and find out what organization she sponsored through, how much it cost, how I could find a child to sponsor, etc. It was late, but she was up, and she responded to my texts immediately. (Talking about you, Stephanie M.)
She was more than happy to answer my questions, and she steered me towards Compassion International’s website. That was the organization she went through to sponsor two little girls in Indonesia, and she had been really happy with their services, trusted their mission and money management, and more. I decided to visit the site that night and sign up to sponsor a child.
At the time (Spring, 2015), Anna was 5 and Ellie had just turned 2. I knew that sponsoring a child would allow me to talk with them about children living on the other side of the world, like this one, who were growing up in very different circumstances than they were. The conversations would serve to illustrate God’s love for others, show them how to have compassion and empathy for those less fortunate, and help them understand they were blessed in many ways because not all children had what they had. We’d also be able to include this child in our nightly prayers and make him or her a part of our family who we care about, talk about, pray for, and support in financial, spiritual and emotional ways.
Thinking about making him or her a part of our family, so to speak, I decided to select a little boy between the ages of my two girls. When I viewed the site, I found a sweet picture of little Joshua Michael Darma, soon to turn 5, from Indonesia who needed a sponsor. I clicked on his picture, entered our information, and we’ve been sponsoring him ever since.
I’ve included the first picture we received of him and the most recent. We correspond with him regularly via postal mail and online letters. We send a small amount of money ($38) each month and also send an additional amount as birthday money and Christmas money each year. It’s part of our annual, charitable giving.
As I anticipated, sponsoring this young boy has led to intentional conversations with both my girls, many prayers for him at bedtime, and questions like: “Is Joshua just now waking up since we are going to bed?”
I’m so glad I found that thing that stirred me up, broke my heart, and made me take intentional action. Are we changing the world? No. But we changed Joshua’s world, and he has changed ours – and that’s something!
How are you intentionally changing or impacting lives? What is that one thing for you? What is it you “can’t stands no more”? I’d love to hear about it; comment below or send me an email.
Also, I know many of you sponsor children through Compassion International and similar organizations. Share your stories and post your sponsored child’s picture. And, THANK YOU for making a difference!
Yours intentionally, Amanda
I’m so glad we did this!
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