I read a devotional this morning about a woman who sponsored a little family in Africa for many years. She didn’t have much, but she had known the very hard reality of raising children on her own as a young adult. She felt she could relate with a young single mother in Ethiopia – and so month after month, she scraped together the money to send.
Years passed, but this American woman didn’t just send in her check. She prayed for this little family, wrote letters and tried as best she could to give of herself for this family halfway around the world.
The touching devotional ended by telling how the woman was given the opportunity to visit the family she had sponsored for many years. After meeting them and seeing the years of letters stacked in the one-room home, she said, “God enabled me to be a missionary from my own home.”
Sometimes it isn’t until much later that you can really see the impact you are having in someone’s life. But if this woman’s story teaches us anything, it’s that a faithful, self-sacrificing service on behalf of another in need does change things – and it usually is for both us and them.
What about you?
Have you seen God working in your own life as you give to others? How has that changed your perspective in life? We would love to hear from you. Share your comments with us!