It Could Be You! Blessed.

When prayer is not enough.

I was reminded this morning about how cold it is outside.

In the reminder, I was asked to pray for the homeless, which made me think about where I was and my present condition.

In my own home.

Warm and comfortable.

I control the heat.

Food in the cabinets.

A stove to cook it on.

Dishes and silverware to use.

Clean water to drink.

Glasses are in the cabinet to drink out of.

The list just kept growing, and I couldn't list everything for which I'd been given and continue to be given. One word came to mind – BLESSED!

When we have so much, we are often lulled into thinking that everybody else has what we have. We forget that there are those who have nothing not because they are lazy, shiftless, uneducated, or for some other reason, but because they have lost their jobs, faced big hospital bills, experienced fires, and, yes, made bad choices, and so on.

Pray, yes. Prayer does change things. We are admonished to pray without ceasing. Many of us do, and many of us do not believe in prayer, but one thing is for sure: all of us are human, and prayer will not keep us warm in temperatures of 32 degrees and below. The truth of the matter is, we need clothing. When we are hungry, prayer gives us hope, but it does not alleviate the hunger pains; food does that.

What is the point? We should always pray, but we should also take action to eliminate human suffering and inhumane conditions such as hunger, homelessness, unavailable health care, joblessness, non-livable wages, and other such conditions. None of us is in a position to take the high road and look down on those who are less fortunate.

But for grace and mercy, many of us would be in their condition. Let's not only pray but share some of our blessings with them. Today, consider buying a bag of groceries and donating it to someone in need. Buy two donuts and two cups of coffee and share one with a homeless person. There are lots of things that we can do, and no one ever needs to know that you did -- well, not everyone will not know because God is always watching.