Out in the cold

It is so easy to cocoon ourselves in our own little protected worlds and not pay attention to what is going on around us. It is easy to say, I am taking care of myself and my family.. I can't be worried about others. They can take care of themselves. This morning, the girls put the dogs outside, then "allegedly" told their brother to let them inside when it was time. As you might imagine, the dogs ended up in the cold for a long time. The finger pointing began.. he said, she said... he was supposed to, she was supposed to... Even with all of the talking, the main result was that the dogs had been left out in the cold simply out of carelessness.

I can't fix the world, I can't even help my entire neighborhood or workplace, but I can make an effort to reach out every day and be caring about others. I can endeavor to follow through with my actions and responsibilities. I can make others' needs as important as mine in my skewed prioritization matrix that helps me through each day.

We may fail one another. I can go as far as to say we WILL fail one another. Now for the rub, if my intention is focused on helping others rather than myself... then. the failure is less of a problem. Someone else can and will succeed where I failed. God will not fail us.

I talked with a friend named Faith yesterday. How cool that even her very name, helps to remind her to believe in something greater than herself.. Every day, every minute.

I haven't felt led to write lately. Holidays were kind to us.. Family, friends(old and new).. we are finally settling in our new "place"... I hope that you are feeling settled too. I hope that your "faith" is intact and that we can all focus on those around us more...

God works through us.. not for us.. Lord make me an instrument of thy praise.