Taking a break from posting about my girls to something that has been laying on my heart the last week or so. The news of Syria and the possibility of more war. Our nation has been incredibly spoiled in it's less than 300 year existence. It was founded by believers and I feel God has richly blessed us as a whole. Yes, we each have our own personal battles, but overall we rarely have to struggle to find something to eat, where to sleep, or get the resources we need to care for our basic needs. When visiting several different mission fields I was always reminded at how terribly selfish and spoiled I am. Children, living in 5x5x5 "homes" under bridges, wearing no underwear, because they don't have any. Children that have to sacrifice their bodies just to have a meal or a place to sleep. Parents who have broken hands to only be paid $10/month to survive (and that's if they are "lucky"). I am not suggesting that God loves American's more than other countries, but only to say that we are BLESSED by Him. Not in our doing, by His Grace and Mercy only. I was watching images of Syria, specifically the children lying on the ground or hospital wards being affected by this crime on their innocent bodies. I worried for my children, and couldn't imagine being a mother in a 3rd world country trying to decide how I would keep their bellies full, keep them sheltered, and even more so, keeping their innocence. It is easy for me to turn the television from those haunting images to the latest episode of Duck Dynasty or Real Housewives, and crawl back into my safe, protected world. The threat of war coming over to my "neck of the woods" scares me, not for me, but for my beautiful little girls who should be able to ride their bikes, play at the neighbors house, and go to school without fear. Without the worry that some crazy, evil person will take them or hurt them in any way. It leads me to think about our missionaries who are called by God to serve, to love the unlovable, and lead the people that we only see on television as they are thousands of miles away. I have several friends, couples from my University, and families that our church sponsors that are serving in tough places. They are sons and daughters. They are mothers and fathers. They are cousins, family, friends, etc....but more importantly they were told to GO, go to all the nations....even the ones where car bombs are a daily event. Where chemicals are being shot through the air and suffocate, where they don't like missionaries or God. Never have I wanted to support and encourage my brothers and sisters more than now. As I flee the "real world" behind my television screen, these Christians are not hiding, but telling people how much God loves them. They live a meek lifestyle, have purposed themselves and sacrificed their lives and safety because they love strangers and don't want to see them die and go to hell. I am not that sacrificing, but I should be. It is not necessary that I go to a 3rd world country, dodging bullets and extreme hunger the whole way to be a missionary. I sit 5 feet away from people who need the Lord. I talk with them at lunch. I shallowly chat with them as they bag my groceries. I leave $5 for them on the table after they bring me my food. I admire our missionaries and their families more than ever, as they are challenged daily with the fear of persecution and possible death. It is real. Very real. Right now, it is impossible for me to financially serve a missionary or go on a missions trip (as much as my heart is aching to go) but I can encourage the people here that can only connect with their children, siblings, friends by Skype, email, mail, etc... Pray for them, take a meal with the specific thanks for their service, send an encouraging note. We are proud of our solders whose boots are laden with dirt from battles, picking up the bodies of their brothers who fought beside them, but I am equally proud of our Christian soldiers who fight spiritual battles just as difficult and necessary.
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