we really CAN do something

I have worked for a non-profit before & I have processed the $10 checks hand written by someone each month & it always made me smile. The effort & the consistency & the generosity of that person. Month after month after month.
And I have seen cupcakes turned into thousands of dollars that then turned into food & love & hope for the children of Mukisa.
And I saw people buy t shirts to support a young Atlanta native over in Tanzania helping to reshape the future of some children.
I am seeing Young Life leaders turning tshirts into changed hearts. And with a changed heart within a changed person.....watch out -
Because now I am watching our friend Billy use his birthday & a life changing experience to benefit others in a great way.
And through all of this I am seeing what may seem like a small amount of money change lives. When people come together - really BIG things can happen. Billy, for example, has over 4,000 people who are his facebook "friends"...... ONE DOLLAR from each of them will change people's lives forever. Not maybe. But for certain.
A dollar. You really cannot even buy a cup of coffee for that. I'm helping my husband pack for a trip to Haiti & he is able to go because many people chose to give. I am learning the value of every. single. dollar. It can really & truly change a life.
Change a community.
So often I have said "no" - not because of lack of interest or believing that a cause was unworthy. But usually because I think my little offering isn't enough.
And all alone, maybe it's not.
Sure, it may encourage someone. But it won't make a real difference to the problem at hand.
But when people come together & put all of their pennies in a bucket.......
that's when change happens.
Because here's the truth...and we know this deep inside, but something creeps in & tells us that we're wrong. But we're not. The truth is that we CAN do something. We can. It doesn't take much.
Do what you can.
Encourage others to simply do what they can.
And never out of guilt.
Always out of joy.
Do something.
I have never been more encouraged by the body of Christ in action. When we are mobilized....nothing is going to stop us.
Linking arms. And pressing forward. Working with what we've been given.