Wanna Be His Hands and Feet

'But we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'  Ephesians 2:10

Unless you live in a cave and have no contact with the outside world, I'm sure you've heard of the recent catastrophic tornado outbreak that hit the South.  My first thought when I saw the images was that I was glad it wasn't us.  But it could've been.  The same storm systems passed our way.  Only God's divine protection was our saving grace.

My next thought was what could I do to help.  I have a servant's heart and I take the command to be the hands and feet of Jesus very seriously.  My answer came in an unsuspecting way.  I was working and we had the radio turned to the local Christian radio station.  The announcer was talking about the tornado damage and mentioned volunteers being needed through Samaritan's Purse.  When I got home that day, I looked up the information.  The thoughts of 'what am I going to do with my kids' and 'what if my hubby doesn't want to go' and 'surely You don't want me to go Lord' filtered through my mind.  But I had the overwhelming feeling that He was telling me to sign up.  So I did.

It didn't work out that time due to work/childcare conflicts.  We didn't have to wait too long as there was another tornado outbreak in Alabama.  I resubmitted our info, they called, and we are scheduled to travel to Tuscaloosa this Thurs.-Sat.  I 'you-tubed' video's of the damage so I could see what to expect and all I can say is Wow!  It's gonna take a lot of manpower and a massive clean-up effort to get things back to any resemblance of 'normal'.  People's lives, families, and communities have been destroyed.

I am thankful that we have the ability to step-in and help these people in the name of Jesus.  I am thankful for parent's and a sister-in-law that are willing to sacrifice of their time and comfort so that we can serve in His name.  They may not be the ones that 'go', but they are serving just the same as we are as they help us with our children.  Our children see that it's not all about us, but about what we can do for others who are in need and who are desperate for hope, healing, and Jesus!

I realize that not everyone can take time out of their lives, find childcare, get off work, etc. in order to do hands on disaster relief.  But there are other things you can do.  First of all...Pray!  Give a $10 donation to the relief effort.  Get a group together and make hygiene kits.  I could go on and on, but you get the point.  And if you're able-bodied and have no excuse not to get out there and help....then do like I did, sign up and go already!!