Beyond My Own Little World

Last week I had the pleasure of collecting several boxes of free Avon products to bring home and disperse among family and friends. After everyone close to me took some goodies home, I attempted to sell the rest at a yard sale. While I made a decent amount of cash, I still had tons of stuff left over and wondered what I was going to do with it all. A yard sale customer happened to mention the local women's shelter nearby. What a great idea! I gathered the rest of my skin care and perfume and headed off, feeling proudly humble that I could help make a bunch of needy women feel beautiful. Then a song came on the radio that sucker punched me in the gut.

Thank you, Mr. Matthew West for reminding me that even though I might be attempting to do something good for someone else, I'm not even halfway there. How many bags of clothes have I donated to the Goodwill since I've lived here, oblivious to the shelter just down the road? Until last week, I'd never darkened its doors. How many hours have I spent wasting time on the computer when I could have been giving my time to people who really need help? In his song, "My Own Little World", Mr. West writes about seeing people but not truly seeing them. "What if there's a bigger picture that I could be missing right now outside my own little world?" Living on Planet Me is not only selfish and unproductive, it deprives others of the care and attention that they deserve. Why did it take me this long to realize that?

There is a world out there beyond Planet Sherry. I'm humbled and grieved that it took me this long to notice it. The questions beg to be answered. How am I reaching beyond my own little world into the lives of others? Who can I share God's love with today? What will people remember about me after I'm gone? Beyond my own little world, am I alone or are there others worthy of the gifts I have to offer? Do I really see these people?