hello, my name is debbie. debbie downer.

I have stories I want to tell you all, but they're not stories that will make you laugh or smile. I like to make people smile. I LOVE it, actually. I sometimes hesitate to share what's on my heart because it won't make you happy. It's not funny, crafty or entertaining. I sometimes see the really fun and hysterical blogs of other women and I just wish I were those things about 1 million times more than I am. I've stared at my computer and tried to think of things to talk about that will make you want to keep coming back for the same reasons I love reading their blogs. But much of what I REALLY want to talk about are things that are really important to me, but that are more somber in nature. I think they're worth sharing, but I just don't want to be dubbed a Debbie Downer.

But here's the deal. (Yes, we are about to have a DTR on my blog.) My calling in this life is very clear to me. I'm not a doctor, a contractor or a wealthy donor. I wish I could build a house or heal a wound, but I don't know how. I don't have a lot of material things to offer the hurting people in this world, although I know God can and will use me beyond my skill set. I can write, though, and I have a non-negotiable need/calling to tell the stories of the oppressed and hurting. I will give a voice, however small, to the voiceless and be an advocate for the forgotten and abused. And sometimes those stories are not easy to hear. Or easy for me to tell. But I'll tell them anyway, because I believe that you want and need to know about the pain of your brothers and sisters in this world. I believe that your heart will respond like mine does to the hurting. I have to believe that because I believe that there is hope and beauty in humanity.

We live in a culture that has done a fairly good job of hiding the oppressed and victimized people of this world in dark corners. My goal/passion/pursuit is to put the world's outcasts right in front of us, under bright, shiny light, so we can see their faces and understand their pain. To me, the most effective way to encourage someone to sacrifice their comfort for the good of another is to get them face-to-face with a hurting person. I believe that, if you let someone stare into the eyes of an orphan, they will respond with compassion, and that introducing them to a trafficking victim or poor single mother will incite generosity and courage.

So that's what I'm going to try to do. I hope you'll be encouraged and challenged, and I know you will encourage and challenge me as well. This will still be a place of joy and hope, but at times will also be a place of pain and hurt. That's what life looks like - brokenness and redemption.

Well, this post was supposed to be about Halloween. But here we are. I'll be posting a few stories I've written in the past few months. But for today, here a few of my favorite blogs - some cheerful and creative, others hard and challenging.

www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com
www.alongwayfromthethetahouse.com
www.flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com

Comments

  1. I keep my phone on and within reach every night. You know that, because I have done it since you were 16 and could drive yourself places that were beyond my control. Not that I feel a need to be in control of where you and your grown brother go or what you do, but my mother’s heart is compelled to keep our connection open and ensure that I am always here should you need me. Never mind that you are married to an amazing young man that loves you deeply and has earned my utmost trust to take care of one of my most precious treasures in this world. You. And the fact that you are 1266 miles away, and on any given day may move to the other side of the globe, is completely beside the point, because I have been called to be available to my children. Period. No matter how old you get, how far away you are, or how very little you actually need my help. We do what we are called to do because we are called. The voice that calls us is not our own. It is His, and must be followed in order to be at peace with ourselves and Him. I know you hear it clearly. It would be a travesty if you did not heed it, because sometimes, the only way the rest of us would have the opportunity to hear the message, is to have you tell it to us. Please tell it to us. It is midnight here and I woke up from my much needed beauty sleep and saw the little flashing light on my smart phone telling me I have mail. It felt like an important little flashing light, so I checked it. And there was your blog, sharing your heart and making me proud to call you my own, but certainly not Debbie...

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  2. hey i read kisses from katie & a long way from the theta house! =) katie's blog is so inspiring, well so is melissa's. melissa's makes me laugh out loud.

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  3. Thanks for sharing Michelle. I loved reading the other blogs too. So great to read other peoples stories and take part in their lives. Keep sharing because I love reading your openness.

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  4. The comment from "Terri" is from me Macall :)

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