{"id":3344,"date":"2016-03-06T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-03-06T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3344"},"modified":"2016-02-17T20:41:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T02:41:21","slug":"choose-to-do-what-you-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3344","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Do What You Can"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Don't<\/a>Most of us will never give up all our worldly possessions to serve the poor, leave a lucrative medical practice to be a missionary in Africa, or travel the world to preach the gospel while bringing hundreds of people to Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s because most of us were not called to be like Mother Teresa, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, or Billy Graham.\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t make our lives any less meaningful or important in God\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 Maybe we were called to live ordinary lives \u2013 doing what we can to serve God and others regardless of circumstances.<\/p>\n

An old adage states:\u00a0 We can\u2019t all cross the ocean, but we can still stand on the shore and help launch the ships.\u00a0 In other words, those who stay behind doing God\u2019s work are just as important as those that go to the forefront.<\/p>\n

David understood this principle. \u00a0When he and his men fought the Amalekites, some went into battle and some had to stay behind to guard the carriages and baggage left behind so the pursuit could move faster.\u00a0 When the soldiers returned victorious with the spoils, many did not want to share the bounty with those who had not gone into battle.\u00a0 They felt their jobs were more important than those who remained behind.\u00a0 David did not agree.\u00a0 He said that all would share in what God had given them equally.\u00a0 \u201cThe share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” (1 Samuel 30:21-25)<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 We all have different strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 Some may have a desire to serve in greater capacities but might be limited by health problems, finances, family obligations, and so on.\u00a0 God did not intend for everyone to live in a limelight.\u00a0 But just because someone goes unnoticed doesn\u2019t mean they aren\u2019t significant.\u00a0 We all must do what we can.\u00a0 And we all share in the same reward with God.<\/p>\n

\"Abraham<\/a><\/p>\n

During the Civil War, Helen Gates wrote a poem called Your Mission<\/em> which was set to music and sung for President Lincoln at a United States Commission meeting in January 1865, just a few months before the war ended.\u00a0 The song brought tears to the president\u2019s eyes, and he asked for it to be sung again at the close of the gathering. \u00a0This is one of my favorite poems, and I think there\u2019s a message in it for all of us to do what we can do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Your Mission<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Ellen Gates<\/em><\/p>\n

If you cannot on the ocean
\nSail among the swiftest fleet
\nRocking on the highest billows,
\nLaughing at the storms you meet,
\nYou can stand among the sailors,
\nAnchored yet within the bay,
\nYou can lend a hand to help them
\nAs they launch their boats away.<\/p>\n

If you are too weak to journey
\nUp the mountain, steep and high.
\nYou can stand within the valley
\nWhile the multitudes go by;
\nYou can chant in happy measure
\nAs they slowly pass along\u2014
\nThough they may forget the singer,
\nThey will not forget the song.<\/p>\n

If you have not gold and silver
\nEver ready at command;
\nIf you cannot toward the needy
\nReach an ever-helping hand.
\nYou can succor the afflicted,
\nO\u2019er the erring you can weep;
\nYou can be a true disciple,
\nSitting at the Savior\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n

If you cannot in the harvest
\nGarner up the richest sheaves,
\nMany a grain, both ripe and golden,
\nOft the careless reaper leaves;
\nGo and glean among the briers
\nGrowing rank against the wall,
\nFor it may be that their shadow
\nHides the heaviest wheat of all.<\/p>\n

If you cannot in the conflict
\nProve yourself a soldier true,
\nIf where fire and smoke are thickest
\nThere\u2019s no work for you to do,
\nWhen the battlefield is silent,
\nYou can go with careful tread\u2014
\nYou can bear away the wounded,
\nYou can cover up the dead.<\/p>\n

Do not, then, stand idly waiting
\nFor some greater work to do;
\nFortune is a lazy goddess\u2014
\nShe will never come to you.
\nGo and toil in any vineyard;
\nDo not fear to do or dare\u2014
\nIf you want a field of labor
\nYou can find it anywhere.<\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n