"There's A Little Bit Everywhere."

I wrestled on whether or not to tell this story.  It is my story, I thought.  A story I might pass down for my children, but certainly not tell the whole world.  Then I realized that my story was God's Story.  And so here it goes:

Let me tell you about a woman I know.  She embodied the word, entitled.  She was certainly not raised that way but she liked nice things.  She lived in a constant state of deserving.  She deserved name-brand clothes and shoes.  She deserved a nice car and good food.  She worked hard so everything she had was well... deserved.  She always claimed to be a Christian, and she was.  She went to church on Sundays and loved God and Jesus.  She volunteered at a women's shelter and had two girls whom she supported in another country.  She'd kiss their framed picture when she passed by them, and felt like she was really doing a world of good.  She knew their was suffering on the other side of this world, but it didn't directly affect her. She didn't know their stories or maybe she didn't care.  She claimed ignorance.  "You can't save everyone." 

There was a wonderful man who wanted to marry her.  She told him absolutely...when he was able to afford this ring she always wanted.  This ring.  Oh, let me just tell you about it.  It was over two carets.  It shined 'like the top of the Chrysler Building.'  This precious man saved up and bought his bride this ring.  It was beautiful.  Every outfit looked perfect with it.  Compliments were constant.  And she loved the compliments, even if she swore she didn't.

Years would pass by and she would be blessed with four children.  Each child changed her for the better. 

Then it happened.  She hadn't prayed that God and His son would change her heart.  After all, she felt like her heart was pretty darn good.  She prayed for wisdom...and with wisdom came humility.  She would look down at her ring and feel embarrassed.  She thought about her children.  What if she couldn't feed them?  What if they couldn't wear diapers and had to urinate on themselves?  What if her child died in her arms from starvation while a woman not so far away was wearing a ring that could pay for her child's food?  What if not naming her baby was better so she didn't become attached when it died?  A ring.  A pesky diamond ring.  What's in a diamond ring anyway?  This ring could pay for her child's food and education, that's what.  But she wasn't worth it to this woman.  The ring was worth more.  

What if a ring signified what was wrong with the world?  This ring shined on her finger while women, men, and children died of hunger.  The ring was no longer beautiful or stunning.  The people she met and the stories she encountered were just that...beautiful and stunning.

She needed wisdom from the only being that could provide such clarity, God and His son Jesus.  Wisdom changed her heart.  Her generous husband allowed her to sell the ring he thought meant so much to her.  His heart had changed too.  They were able to buy mattresses for children sleeping on concrete floors of their orphanage.  They were able to buy chicken coups for girls to sustain a living in their sons' country.  They were able to make more lasting relationships with women all over Africa, helping them with schooling and keeping their children.  They were able to help people all around them who needed it.  They were able to use God's money to love others. 

I bet this was His plan all along.  And to think He knew how our story would play out years ago when I accepted a ring that I so thought I deserved.  He knew our story.

I didn't think anyone would notice.  Then I started feeling anxious about how to respond when people asked where my ring was.  So I went back and looked at pictures of all the lives that were changed. Now I can say, "There's a Little Bit Everywhere."