Thankful?? That's an understatment!

I am so thankful for everything that I have and everyone who cares for me and loves me. It wasn't until this morning that I realized how much I do have. I think I have felt this in the past, you know that guilt of having too much. If you are on Facebook, you have seen my status say things like "I'm cleaning out, and giving everything away!!!" or "I can't stand the clutter, everything has to go!!!". I even started a group on Facebook called the "Recycle Flee Market". I thought that would be a great place for people to post things that they wanted to sell or get rid of, or exchange things, or buy things.... like Craigslist.

So I have been cleaning out and piling up the stuff that we don't need. It's all on my screened in porch, which measures 20' x 10', which is filled with stuff and you can barely walk out there. The sad thing is, the "Recycle Flee Market" hasn't worked like I thought it would, and I've mentioned it to some friends, but the stuff is still sitting there... on my porch.

I woke up this morning and realized that the stuff out there is a sore reminder of all the things I have. It actually sickens me to see the stuff. What a waste! Here I have all this crap that I don't need (nor want), and it sits there... on my porch!

And what's even sadder and more sickening is that I don't know anyone who needs anything! Wow, isn't that crazy???

Yesterday I talked about love. When Jesus was asked which of the commands in God's law was most important, his response was "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”" (Matthew 22:37-40).

I really like how "The Message" says it:

Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."

"Love others as well as you love yourself"

So, how does a girl do that? I want to give things away, I want to give more of what I earn, more of my time to help people in need, but I don't know anyone who needs anything. And I just let things sit there! And believe me when I say, I am struggling with this. I feel paralyzed. I've thought about getting in my car and driving around Powhatan looking for "people in need". I'm sure my church knows "people in need", and other churches in the area know of "people in need". My big question to churches is: Why is everything so secretive? I know that things have to be done in discretion at times, not everyone wants everyone to know they need stuff. Or maybe I should be embarrassed that I have been blind to the needs of my community, and there is all kinds of stuff happening that I am clueless to. Well, please let me know if that's the case, I want to be part of something like that.

But for now, here I sit with my stuff, my money, my time. Asking myself these questions " How am I loving others like I love myself? Is where I live or the things I acquire loving others and in loving others, loving my God? Is what I say and what I do loving others?"

Tough questions, aren't they?