light in a dark place

on monday, i read a cool story. it was about a catholic sister that moved to the caldwell area here in ottawa 30 years ago. she has spent her life giving to the community. a place that has a bad reputation, but also has a lot of good people.

last week, as you know, there was the fire that killed a 2-year old in that area. while its tough to find good news with such a difficult story, there was some. the fire took place in the evening. by the next morning, there were already numerous phone calls to the office she works out of, asking how people could help. many people were already mking donations of toys, food and clothing for the family. in a short period of time, they even had to start using a vacant apartment in the area to hold all the stuff.

i can't remember her name, or find the article at the moment, but she is shining a light in a dark place. she is a shining example to the community and she was the one that people contacted to see if they could help. many of these people don't have a whole lot themselves. this is an example of light in the world. its out there, but sometimes you have to look.

naturally, we tend to be selfish and protect ourselves. we have to teach children to share because they already know how to be selfish. this is because of our sinful nature. god made us in his image, though. as a result, he gives us a desire to help those who really need it. i believe this is god showing us his heart and drawing us to him. when situations like this happen, god gives us the opportunity to see what can happen when we turn our thoughts towards others instead of ourselves. in that way a little more light shines. do all these people believe in jesus? no, not at this point. will they all? not necessarily, but his light is shining when people give to others in need.

this was just a thought to give you hope that there can be light in the world. you are right, without jesus, there is no light... he says he is the light of the world, but his light shines sometimes where we least expect it.