A Challenge to Give!

Do you ever really take a good look at your life and think you are where you are supposed to be or do you think there is something you should be doing different? I have those moments but for the most part I think I'm where I am supposed to be. Now do I think there are people who should be in my life that aren't? Always but I'm not the one who gets to make that choice.

This last week I have added to the list of people from my childhood/teen years that I have connected with again. Sadly, it is all through the miracle of a tragedy. Yes you heard me correctly a tragedy can also be a miracle. The tragedy of the loss of lives who mattered to others but the miracle that more weren't lost. The tragedy of loss of homes and memories but the miracle of a community coming together with the help of an entire country to begin to rebuild. The miracle of the Joplin tornado is seen in so many photos and stories of the passion of the human heart and the strength we have in our souls. We spend so much of our time wrapped up in petty squabbles or working ourselves to the bone that we don't take the time to look around and appreciate the miracles we each are given by living another day.

For the last week my brain has been working overtime on how to help my hometown. How can I make a difference in a way that is personal. Yes I could log on and write a check to donate money. I know they will need lots of it but how can I make a difference that helps others learn how to make a difference too? How can I find my voice to teach kindness, compassion and caring. I don't want the recognition but I want to do something that comes from my heart that I will know will make a specific miracle happen in a life other then mine.

I know how far I have come and what I have to give is going to come from my soul and spirit. So today I have been working on an idea to reach out to my hometown with the resources I have in my reach. I will keep working and when I know we are to a point that I can share more information I will do that. In the meantime I look at my daughter and her friends for my idea. They have a beautiful life full of gifts. I was the same age once walking down the hallowed halls of Joplin High (or for those of us in those years, Parkwood) I can only image the depths those students feel losing homes and family members but to lose the security of your school too!

So I challenge everyone, not just Midway ISD, to make a difference to my hometown. It can be with your church, your checkbook, your schools, your work but give to the victims of all the tragedy with what comes from your soul/spirit. Make it personal for yourself to know you have helped another find a miracle in their lives! We have each been given another day find a reason to collect your day tomorrow! I challenge you to give because tomorrow it could be you or I! I want to know that my acts of kindness matter and make a miracle happen! You can work your bobo off in a job that may pay the bills but in the end what counts isn't how many hours you have spent on the phone or contacts you have made. What love do you have to give to another! Whose hand can you hold? You many not feel like it all the time (I know I don't) but someone does love you take a chance and spread the love!