I took this picture on a family hike this week because I appreciated how Gavin paused to help Matt.
Yet then I saw two other pictures this week that stopped me in my tracks.
In one picture I saw a boy, about Gavin’s age, on the phone while a boy, looking about Matt’s age, was next to him. Yet these boys weren’t in the woods hiking. They were on the tarmac at the airport in Afghanistan.
The other picture I saw was of a girl from Haiti who was around Kate’s age holding an IV drip of a child that looked to be Matt’s age.
These pictures captured my heart, seeing these teens, who are still kids themselves, take the role of caretaker for these younger children.
I couldn’t help but picture the children in those pictures being my own children.
Imagine if these were our kids having these experiences today?
Putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes will give us the lens to see through that will help our hearts understand deeper what others go through.
Yes, it’s easier to not think about it. Yet wouldn’t we want someone to think about it if we were the ones in need?
I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.
May we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes today to grow in empathy and compassion for their experience. May we ask God what is ours to do. It may not seem like we can do much sometimes, yet may we remember prayer is always helpful even when direct action may not be possible. Yet if there are ways to do more than pray, may we do what we are able to, just as we’d hope someone would do for us, if we were the ones in their shoes.
With love and hope,
Shawn
Two requests:
- Please pray for a friend who has family with four children ages 3,5,7 and 11 who are trying to leave Afghanistan. Please pray for their safety as they wait and for there to be a path out for them
- A friend, Mary Lou, has a nonprofit called Helping Haitian Children. I’ve worked with her for years and know she has contacts in Haiti. Any donations made will go to help a nonprofit she’s connected with in Jeremie. To donate visit: https://www.helpinghaitianchildren.com/donate
"Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ."
- Galatians 6:2