Last week I challenged you to overshare God’s love with those around you (1 John 4:7a). In keeping with this theme, I am delighted to have my friend, Donna Bostick, share a one degree moment with you. Her following story is a beautiful example of oversharing God’s love. PLUS, Donna wants to give one of you Chris Tomlin’s latest CD! To enter the drawing, simply leave a comment below.
Here’s Donna:
“If I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet.”
~ Indian Proverb
image courtesy of africa/freedigitalphotos.net
My bags were packed with the minimal amount of clothing needed to get me through the ten day trip.
Destination – Haiti – post earthquake.
Prior to our leaving, I contacted Nestle Purina’s Women’s Leadership Forum and enlisted the help of my co-workers to fill two bags with one hundred pounds of children’s Croc shoes. My generous co-workers over delivered and I ended up with three bags of Crocs to deliver to the kids in the orphanage. You name the color or the size – we had it.
God provided above and beyond my wildest imagination.
We arrived at Cavillion – our new home for a week
It was HOT! It was MUGGY! It was a SCORCHER of a day! I complained as I nursed my sunburn. I was slowly but surely beginning to look like one of the grilled lobsters that we were served for lunch on the beach the day before.
It was our first day of VBS (Vacation Bible School). The kids were excited. The Mommas were excited! We were ALL excited! We unloaded our VBS supplies, and did our skit. We colored. We cut. We glued. We sang. We did the Hokey-Pokey in Creole!
We taught them about Jesus.
We took a break for a lunch of sandwiches and drinks. I am not sure what kind of sandwiches they were – and I honestly didn’t want to ask. I just closed my eyes and ate.
Then we began our service project – placing screens on the windows of the orphanages. As we worked the kids came out and played. We sang some more. Hokey-Pokeyed again. We jumped rope. Rode bicycles. Hugged kids.
Loved kids.
As I sawed the pieces of wood for the screen, the overflowing suitcases filled with Crocs came off the bus! The kids were led one by one into a room to pick out their new pair of Crocs. And I totally missed it!
Until one of my team mates brought Daniella over to us. Timid Daniella was amazing and had her own story to share with me, and it only took one glance. Daniella was born with club feet. Her feet faced backwards. She wore one old worn out pink Croc and one old worn out white Croc.
My heart melted, and my eyes wept as I saw Daniella grasping those pink Crocs in her fists.
It was with that glance that God bowed my heart to His and humbled my spirit as I remembered the quantity of shoes that were sitting, waiting on me in my closet as I returned home. He really hit me in the heart when I realized that $40 could not only feed, but house, provide medical care, and educate Daniella for one month! The cost of one shoe could cover all of those things for Daniella! Can we say wake-up call?
As my eyes leaked, God brought to mind these words in Ephesians 5:1-2, 20:
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God… always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
My One Degree moment
I began to ponder the things that I often take for granted and fail to offer God thanks for:
- the ability to run and walk without stumbling;
- the never ending supply of shoes in my closet;
- three square meals a day;
- clean, safe drinking water;
- a soft mattress to sleep on;
- an air-conditioned room to sleep in;
and the list goes on and on.
My mind was flooded with thoughts of when I had not followed God’s example. It was soaked with the memories of how I had not walked in the way of His love. It was drenched with ways in which I had not loved others as He loved me. And it was overwhelmed with grief as I reflected on Jesus giving His life so that I may experience life as He meant it to be experienced – eternally.
Will you join me in following God’s example of walking in love – an example of loving everyone through His eyes, through His heart – through His mind? And as you follow Him, praise and thank Him for all that He has done for you. Take the time to be grateful for the things that you often take for granted!
Donna would also like to love on one of you by giving away Chris Tomlin’s latest CD. To enter, share another example of how we can walk in God’s love, or something you often take for granted. We will select one name at random, and will announce the winner on Thursday.
This is wonderful!! We have been finding things daily to praise HIM for and this goes right along with it.. I cannot wait to share this with my family! Thank you!
I teach in an area that is very poor and daily I am reminded of how blessed I am. We were sent a huge box of oranges from Florida. I brought in a bunch for my students. Their eyes got so big when i shared they were sent from Florida , picked off trees and sent so they could eat them! LOL
So many things i could share .. I love asking Him daily to show me how i can be a blessing to others.. He never fails me… 🙂
Love your heart Tracey!! And you are so right … God and His love will never fail us!
Thanks for sharing this. I am so guilty of overlooking how much I have. there are so many who do without and would treasure many of the things that we in the United States cast off. This is eye opening!
Thanks Gina for your comments. We are a disposal society and don’t even realize what we are throwing away …. praying for God to make us senistive not only to the needs of others but also to our “waste”.
I am so happy that we have places like the Salvation Army where we know our “discards” can be used for those less fortunate in this country and abroad. It seems every year I have a bag of clothes or shoes that I no longer use. Not only does this keep this type of “trash” our of the landfills but in helping others I can feel less guilty about getting rid of things.
Donna, I love your heart for helping others. It shows in what you do and how you interact with your postings on FB. May God continue to bless you and prosper your work for Him. Love you to pieces.
Thanks Catherine … it’s all God and his promptings. I am blessed by how God uses others to teach me and lead by example … including yourself! Love you back!
Donna,
It’s difficult to see beyond the moment we find ourselves in at times, yet we are blessed with much more than many people could even dream of.
It’s also easy to overlook those in need when we focus on our own needs. Thanks for the reminder to look beyond myself and my world.
Thanks Peggy for stopping by and for taking the time to read and comment! Yep, God blesses us beyond measure! What amazed me about Haiti was how they were always content – no matter what! Great to hear from you. Hope all is well!
I am amazed every day that God has chosen me to be His hands and feet. I am honored and overwhelmed by His faith in me. My father worked Disaster Relief in Sri Lanka and we bought shoes for those little ones too. We have more shoes than we can ever wear and $4 bought shoes for those kids to have just one pair that fit them. God has blessed us to be able to clothe many children over the years, in and outside our home.
The last 10 years we have been entrusted with the hearts and lives of 5 sisters who lost their mother and a neglectful father. Our home and hearts are full to the brim as we grow these young women into faithful servants. I love being a part of the Kingdom and doing His work.
I love your heart Donna Bostick. I’m sure we must have been separated at birth.
Thank you for this reminder! I have a child with special needs and I know God is using him to teach me daily not to take things for granted, but I know there are so many more blessings that we have that I don’t see. (Such as access to therapists and specialists for my little man!)
Teresa,
And I love you back. And totally agree that we were seperated at birth! Love your amazing heart and love watching God work in and through you for His kingdom purposes! Your heart is the size of Texas! Love ya!
Donna,
I stayed at an orphanage in Guatemala almost 2 years ago and their biggest request was also crocs! We were able to give 2 large suitcases… It was life altering for me. I have so much more than I need here in my home. I am grateful. ~ Blessings out, Amy
p.s. “Hi Tracy”! 🙂
Amy, no thank you for sharing! Another cool thing about the Crocs which blew my mind was while we were there, it rained a day and all of the kids would take their crocs off before they entered the church! One gigantic pile of crocs and I don’t know how the kids managed to determine which ones were theirs!
I want to go………………………..
Tracey,
Check out The Global Orphan Project online. They have a calendar on their website that shows upcoming open trips. I’m waiting to hear from my church. They announced Sunday that we will be planting two churches in Columbia South America but we don’t have all the details yets.
Love ya,
Donna
Hi Amy! Sounds like your trip was amazing too. Thank you Donna for sharing with us today. Praise God for how He is working in your heart!