Buy a Pack of Toilet Paper and Dump a Bucket of Iced Water on Your Head

Turn on the news or open social media and in a few seconds you'll be so discouraged you won't know what to do. Suicide rates are at an all-time high and "peaceful" protests are leaving people dead in the streets. Even the very ones who are supposed to be protecting us have become innocent targets. I don't want to live in a world full of hate and fear, but apparently I do. It seems the whole world has gone nuts.

Speaking of nuts, let me tell you a funny story with an amazing ending. It all started with a friendly competition between two adult Sunday School classes. None of the details are important, except to know we were collecting items for local food banks and shelters in our area. The competition was fierce. Three classmates from the winning class would dump a bucket of iced water on the teacher and two students from the losing class. And so for over a week, both of the classes went crazy buying items for those in need.

I have to admit, the friendly smack talk between the classes was a refreshing break from the nightly news and a great distraction from the madness of the world. Comments like, "Wednesday we go to battle" really meant, "I sure do hope we collect a ton of stuff for the local shelters." Finally the big night arrived and an official judge counted the items and announced the winner. The competition took an unexpected twist at the end, and things didn't go exactly as I planned!

But things did go exactly as God planned. While I was thawing out and laughing at all the fun we had, God was preparing to teach me a lesson. One of the shelters where the goods were delivered was down to their very last pack of toilet paper. I don't know how that strikes you, but it pulls my heart strings. I can't imagine being a mama on the run, trying to protect my children, and not being able to provide them with toilet paper. Toilet paper seems like such a small thing, and I guess it isn't news worthy.  But I can't help but wonder what our world would be like if the news was filled with stories about human beings loving and helping one another, instead of all the horrific stories they choose to share.

News channels usually don't choose to air good news, so it's our responsibility to take up their slack. The bible says in 1 John 1:5-7, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the       darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."  We live in a dark world, and it gets darker by the day. If we are not careful, the darkness will surround us. Now, more than ever, we need to be the light for others around us.  Look for those who need help and strive to be a blessing to someone. If that means getting three buckets of iced water dumped on your head, so be it, because at the end of the day, we are all winners if we put our faith in God and love one another deeply.