Are you uncomfortable yet?

As if my previous post wasn't long enough, I woke up this morning and remembered two things that I forgot.

First is care of widows. This one is not that hard, but we overlook it every single day. Again, we don't want to be uncomfortable. We don't want to make time in our schedules to serve. During this holiday season I challenge you (and me) to make time to reach out to a widow. If you don't know who to reach out to, ask your pastor for ideas. There are lonely people in your communities, and this time of year can be even more lonely for them.

Ideas to get you started:

• Visit a nursing home
• Support Meals on Wheels
• Rake leaves for a widow
• Participate in Senior ministry in your church (or start one if you don't already have one)

Second, I forgot to tell you one of the more amazing stories I have discovered since I began blogging. This is one of those blogs that I read occasionally, but not too often because it is so hard to read. It makes me want to do something, and that makes me uncomfortable. It is written by a young woman named Katie. Her ministry is called Amazima. Katie left her Tennessee home after high school to do volunteer work for a year in Uganda. And she never came home. She literally takes care of the least of these, every single day. She cares for 14 children in her home, in addition to her work in her community.

One day I was reading her blog (I don't remember which entry, or I would link it directly) and she was talking about what a loving family she has, and how blessed she is. Then she said the hard part. She said that because much has been given to her, much is expected of her (Luke 12:48). Because she has been given so much love, she is expected to give that love away in ways that make me uncomfortable. It makes me uncomfortable, because I have been similarly blessed. I have been given one of the most loving families imaginable, and how am I giving that love away? Much is expected of me, but am I doing much?