Today's blog is brought to you by:

Nicky Page

"God's To-Do List"

I'm not good at many things, or, to say it more accurately, there are MANY things I am not good at: dancing, singing, writing (blogging), getting to know people, expressing myself, delegating, going with the flow, being proactive, trying new things, dieting, and so MANY more things. I've often said that if everyone has a gift, mine is helping everyone else feel really good about theirs, because I don't really have one of my own. I'm okay with this. I figure God intentionally made me this way for a reason, even if I don't fully know what it is. And I've gotten comfortable with this idea…maybe a little too comfortable. I can't lead a Bible study; God hasn't gifted me with the ability to inspire others in their faith. I can't read the lessons at worship; God hasn't gifted me with a fondness for public speaking (or reading). I can't lead the children in the chapel song; I'm not gifted in singing…or leading. And if I'm not capable of making a difference in my own community, I can't possibly be expected to do ANYTHING to change the world…right?

Today, however, I learned that one doesn't need to be gifted in leadership, or arts, or social skills, or anything really, to make a HUGE difference in the world. It started last night, actually. Marc Kielburger was speaking to us about his organization, Free the Children, a youth-driven charity which has built over 500 schools in marginalized regions worldwide. He told us about how he stopped reading the newspaper at one point in his life because it was just too depressing. He shared this with somebody—I don't remember who, but he was important (I'm also not gifted in remembering details, but look at me going outside my comfort zone to share the story with you anyway!), and this very important individual gave Marc a new insight on the paper. This person told Marc that he sees the newspaper not as an account of all the violence, anger, and sadness in the world, but as God's to-do list, delivered directly to YOU (um, ME)on a daily basis.

Since I was half-asleep during this guy's speech (remember, it had been a 28-hour day for me, through 12ish states, three airports, a bus, and a two-mile walk in the rain, carrying 6 Bibles, uphill both ways in three feet of snow!), I barely caught this part, but it stuck in my head. It did for several others in our group as well. We all thought it was a neat insight, something we'd never really considered before. And even as we chatted about it during last night's devotion, I thought to myself, "But what can I possibly do about ALL that?"

As we wandered through the 1,000,000+ square feet of the Convention Center today, I started to get an idea. Today, some of us pledged to use less plastic in an effort to reduce the harmful effect of this waste on our environment. We contributed to the construction efforts of Thrivent Builds and Habitat for Humanity. We gave money to homeless children. We learned about effective ways to rehabilitate juvenile offenders. We learned about the importance of peace in our hearts, communities, and the world. We learned that God calls drunks, adulterers, the disobedient, the ungrateful, the damaged, the weak, the oppressed, the ungifted, to do all sorts of really cool things. And it all starts with one person, doing one thing. And because God is so good, this one ordinary person, doing one unremarkable thing, changes the world.

You know, that could be one of the kids in this group. It could be one of us adult-types. It could be you. It could be ME…no, really. I can do so much good in this world. It doesn't take much, just a cause and the will of God. And as I think on the wonderfulness of this, I can't help but feel incredibly…gifted.