overcoming

been feeling kinda small lately. feeling like i am too small and the world's problems are too big. feeling a bit overwhelmed in regards to how i am supposed to fight poverty, eradicate disease, and end war. feeling a bit confused on how God would have me use my gifts to love others the best i can. feeling like i can do so much more, but not really sure how to do it and what is keeping me from finding out. it's easy for me to let these types of thoughts and feelings work on me and break me down. i am ok with that. i don't want to lose sight of how much work there is to be done, i don't want to become numb and callused to the pain others are experiencing. but i also don't want to despair. and i feel like it's easy to reach that point when you feel the weight of it all. i am reading a mclaren book right now and after he finishes talking about some of these issues, war and inequity in particular, in a chapter of it, he ends with this paragraph.

But despair is boring and uncreative, and to succumb to it is to empower it. So I turn from it and turn to Jesus, to believe his narrative and to join his peace insurgency, to stop figuring out how to get him on our side, and instead to try to cross over to his side.

despair is so boring and uncreative. i know God is calling me to be creative, to be imaginative, to pray, and think, and act. it's good, it's a process. i was encouraged this week to have stumbled across some organizations and people that are creatively seeking to love and embrace Christ's narrative and message...

http://www.micahchallenge.org/english/
http://www.msainfo.org/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
http://onedayswages.wordpress.com/ (this one isn't new to me. be praying for it)
http://www.mochaclub.org/

...and many personal blogs and other things i have been reading.