Though I have been on service trips myself, seeing the trip through their eyes provided another experience. First, I am amazed that a small Catholic school system in Iowa maintains a fully operational, year-round mission program thousands of miles from their own town. Their school is able to provide the financial and spiritual support necessary to run such a mission by volunteering their own "time, talent and treasure."
Sitting next to Liam and Katy (the two students who had taken the trip) as the movie played, I could see tears in Katy's eyes as she relived the memories, and hear Liam patiently explain the pictures to his younger siblings. They answered their classmates questions, talked of lessons learned, and affirmed their own desires to return. As the movie played, one quote stood out to me.
"Did you use everything I gave you?"
I was forced to ask myself, do I? Do I use everything God gave me? Do I truly use all my resources wisely - my time, my talents, my gifts, my treasure? I know how I want to answer God at the end of my life, and I know I am a long way from reaching that goal... I know that there are days when I waste the valuable time I have been given. Days when I rest in fear and anxiety instead of using my talents to serve others. Days when I make excuses instead of use my gifts.
Sitting on my bureau is a glass of water. It is room temperature. It has sat there since I poured it last night, when I wanted some water before going to sleep. It doesn't matter we think, water runs freely from our taps. It is in this simple act, the fact that after finishing this entry that I will get up, dump out the water and refill my cup, that I am already failing to use what I am given. 80% of the world's health problems stem from poor water. Poor water quality is the reason I met a child in Mexico whose mother thought he might die - he had diarrhea. Poor water quality is the reason my students took month's worth of anti-malarial medicine before venturing to Honduras.
Sitting on my bureau is a glass of water. It is room temperature. It has sat there since I poured it last night, when I wanted some water before going to sleep. It doesn't matter we think, water runs freely from our taps. It is in this simple act, the fact that after finishing this entry that I will get up, dump out the water and refill my cup, that I am already failing to use what I am given. 80% of the world's health problems stem from poor water. Poor water quality is the reason I met a child in Mexico whose mother thought he might die - he had diarrhea. Poor water quality is the reason my students took month's worth of anti-malarial medicine before venturing to Honduras.
At the end of our lives, how will we answer. What will we say when God asks, did you use everything I gave you?
