Reaching Out and Making an Impact

        As Christian women of today, people see us as just reaching out to the church community around us which is all fine and dandy but what about the other people around us. You hear again and again "you need to reach out in the church", "get involved with a women's or some kind of group", and so on. Now don't get me wrong. As Christians, we need that kind of encouraging community every once in awhile but not all the time.
         Now some people might be thinking but that is what being a Christian is all about. It is about being in community and I can't argue and won't argue with that because that is what it is about. We seems to get so caught up in church community that we forget the other communities that we are suppose to be changing or reaching out to. To me, "Reaching out" means getting outside of your comfort zone and church is more of a comfort zone for us then anything else. We need to reach out in our workplaces and more in the community where we are scared what people will think but yet it is awesome to see God at work.
          I'm not saying that I am great at it because I'm not. I still look for comfort and encouragement through the church and sometimes even advice but if we are strong enough Christians then we should be able to tell right from wrong. I'm all about serving and reaching out and if you know me you know that is true. I want to make an impact on the world but how can we when we are so focus on how to get the church "building" bigger and better instead of the people inside it.
          For me, at my job, it is reaching out and spending time with the children. It is reaching out and trying to give them what they need to succeed. It is sharing thoughts and ideas with all the staff so they can do it too when I'm not there. It is listening to the children's stories. Forget about the chores that have to be done for a little while. I know it is the same with real parents too. Sometimes, most often, we are so caught up in our busy world that we forget to spend time with the children. We forget to play, read, hug, teach, and so on with them but those are ways of reaching out even to the people and children around us.
            It is strange how God is showing me things with my job now that I would have never seen with another job. I'm thankful for the job I have now. It is just hard because when you know parents are not reaching out like they should it is sad. Some of their developments that they are behind in can be fixed by just spending time and doing things with them. Reaching out looking for that support group that will help you understand and encourage you to do what you are doing. Someone that you can talk to. For me, at my job, it is the "higher up" people that I can talk to and share ideas with.
            It might be strange but I really like these weekly or every two weeks meetings we are having now because it is a for sure time to talk to someone and only one person. Reaching out is more of what we need to do as Christians. We need to get out of our little "bubble" and go win people for Christ even if it is something like volunteering at a school or a shelter just to spend time with the children. I will be honest too and I'm not perfect at all but we need more sermons on how to really reach out in the world and make an impact then how to get involved in the church. The church, as a building, already has enough people to work. It is a smaller place compared to the world outside of it.
            It is a rant and that is okay if you think it is. It is something that has just been on my heart a lot lately especially this past week with things going on in my personal life and at work. There is a saying that one of my friends told me in college and it still rings true to this day, "Life is an adventure, if it wasn't then we would have boring lives." Who wants to have boring lives just sitting behind the doors of a church building? I know I don't. I want to get out there and win people for Christ. I want to care for them like Christ cares for me.

Challenge: Get out of your comfort zone (church building) and go live that adventure for Christ! Care for people like Christ cares for you!