Giving

It is almost too easy to feel like you are the only one that cares.  There are far too many examples of selfishness playing out.  It is as if Evil is the easiest thing to see.  Yet in the midst of all the negatives – individuals refusing to be rationale, communities where rudeness seems to be the norm, and exploitation in all its forms – there are reasons for us to find, see, and experiencing unmerited acts of giving, mercy, and compassion. There is evidence that people truly care about others.  There is evidence that despite the presence of Evil, Truth is doing well.  There is goodness in the weak and strong, healthy and sick, powerful and above all the powerless. 
In the gift of freedom within ourselves, we have the ability to choose.  We can always give the gift of acceptance.  We can always give the gift of hope.  We can always give the gift of truth.  In the middle of chaos, compassion has a home within your heart and mine.  In the middle of our struggle, we can nurture hope.  In the middle of our pain, we can embrace mercy.  Freedom comes with our ability and willingness to choose to do what is right.  We hold the keys to what happens in the present.  As uncertain as it might be, we determine what happens.  As fearful as we can and often are, we determine if the present if filled with truth and goodness or something other.
I often find myself feeling as if it is all up to me.  It never is.  We, you and I, the communities in which we live, determine the future.  Yet in the communities we live we, you and I, can be a difference.  When I hear God talking, “I am honored all over the world.  And there are people who know how to worship me all over the world, who honor me by bringing their best to me.  They're saying it everywhere: 'God is greater, this God-of-the-Angel-Armies.'”  (Malachi 1.11)  I know there is a choice at hand.