What can we do when the world seems dark and the needs of others overwhelm us?

Grand Central Station Meets Bluey

Vacation Bible school with seventeen preschoolers feels a little like Grand Central Station meets Bluey. 

Have you ever noticed that preschoolers don’t walk? They bounce. And they don’t whisper. Ever. They shout with all the passion and delight their little bodies can muster. 

When you enter a room full of children, every one of them wants to hold your hand or sit in your lap. And they all want to tell you about their day. At the same time.

“Mommy-said-I-could-have-a-popsicle-after-lunch-but-I-had-to-eat-it-outside-because-it-drips-but-then-my-dog-jumped-on-me-and-knocked-it-out-of-my-hand-and-I-cried-a-lot.”

When you add personalities to the noise, it gets even more interesting. Clayton’s missing his mom. Peter bursts into tears every time someone looks sideways at him. Chloe and Ezra had a fight on the way to church. John bumped his knee getting out of the van, and Patrick’s mad because his sister got the last purple lollipop at the Welcome desk.

Seventeen voices. Seventeen sets of needs. Seventeen little souls.

Overwhelming? 

Oh yeah.

How could we ever impact them for Christ?

Weeks Later

Weeks later, I felt the same sense of overwhelm. 

Hard life circumstances swirled around me like those precious children rushing into our VBS classroom.

A dear friend faced surgery with an uncertain outcome. A beloved mentor was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and given months, maybe weeks to live. A neighbor succumbed to a mysterious illness and needed help with childcare. A grieving family needed a shoulder to cry on. 

My tender heart wept, and my heart longed for Jesus to return and make everything right again.

So many needs.

When the Needs Are Great

When the needs are great, how can we, people with limited time and resources, minister in Jesus’s name?

In Vacation Bible School, when the craziness threatened to overwhelm us, the leader turned off the lights and plunged the room into darkness. 

Silence descended like a blanket as the busy little bodies stilled.

Then a single flicker of light pierced the shadows. 

In the quiet, we heard a voice.

“This little light of mine. 

“I’m gonna let it shine. 

“This little light of mine.

“I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

A second light appeared and the chorus continued.

“Let it shine ‘til Jesus comes. I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine ‘til Jesus comes. I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.  

Helpers handed out flickering glow sticks until the darkness lifted and every child’s face shone in the gentle light.

As the hard things pressed into my spirit, discouraging and defeating me, I remembered the calm that had quelled our classroom chaos. Suddenly, I knew what to do when the needs of life make me feel overwhelmed and inadequate.

This Little Light of Mine

“It’s better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness,” a wise man once said. 

Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

I can’t meet every need that comes to my attention, but I can meet some. 

I can’t fix every problem, but I can lighten someone’s load and lend a hand.

I can take a meal to my sick friend.

Send a note of thanks to my dying mentor.

Babysit, run an errand, make a phone call.

I can pray a prayer asking God to do the impossible.

Instead of lamenting what I can’t do, I’ll do what I can. I’ll offer up the meager loaves and fishes of my time, talent, and treasure to Jesus and ask Him to multiply them.

“Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

Are you drowning under the weight of sickness, brokenness, and pain in this world?

Grab your candle.

It’s time to let it shine.

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Have you ordered your copy of Walking in Faith? Releasing August 4!

Personal Update from Lori for Refresh Readers

Thank you to so many of you who responded to my call out for thoughtful readers to join my Launch Team! Thank you also to those of you who have preordered copies of Walking in Faith. Pre-orders are crucial for retailers to assess the demand of a book and order plenty. If you haven’t ordered your copy (ies) yet and would like to, Check out these listings:

ChristianBook.com ($12.99), Amazon ($16.98), Barnes and Noble($16.99), and Our Daily Bread Publishing.

Jamie preordered from Barnes and Noble and has already RECEIVED her copy (Here’s the pic she sent me to proove that it had arrived). When you receive your copy, would you shoot me an email and tell me where you ordered from and when it arrived? I’m very curious to see who handles distribution best 🙂

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