Complacently Blessed

This week I had the incredible honour of helping lead a group at Mission San Antonio. It's spring break, students are all out of school. We gathered 140 students from the 4 different campuses of our church to give the little we had to serve our city.

We went to 11 different projects around the city to share the love of Christ and work at making a difference.

The group I was given went to a ministry called Hill Country Daily Bread. A ministry that serves local families by providing boxes of food to those that cannot afford enough food to eat. Churches sign up to pick up the boxes and distribute to families around them.

We spent two days helping around their warehouse, packaging and sorting food, and packing boxes for over 400 families for next week.

It could have been so easy to just see the simple tasks that were given to us, and just get on with it. But I couldn't disconnect from it.

As they were showing us around, there were some truths that they reminded me of, which I keep thinking of. She spoke of the people that come to ask for help, the people they meet with that just can't afford enough food for their children.

She reminded me to think of those I meet everyday, there is no way to know what their situation is, what they go home to, what situations they are battling against. There is no way to know who those people that need the help of the food boxes may be, they could be people I see everyday.

As we are packing boxes, I realise how incredibly blessed I am. There is some bulk food that they have donated that are in really good condition, just like you would pick up at the supermarket. But then there are the donations that are battered, and dented, with labels missing, the boxes that are ripped and taped back together again. All of it put into boxes and given to families that need them.

There is no choice in what they get, they are given a box with food, and there is just gratitude that they have something to eat and feed their kids with for another week.

I go to the supermarket each week and pick what I want to eat. I can choose what I want to eat. I pick the best of what they have. If an apple looks a little bruised, I pick a different one. If a can has a dent, I reach further back for one in pristine condition.

I do this every week without a single thought for anyone else in this world who is not that fortunate. I'd think about it if I didn't have that luxury. But, no, I walk around complacently choosing whatever I want, balancing my meals, getting as much variety as possible.

Maybe I need to look around my everyday little world and notice more.

And ask the question: what can I do to make your day better?

Instead of complacently looking for the best for myself.