Michelle Morey, is a professional woman who had breast cancer. Michelle explained in an article how she cried every time she had to go to the clinic for treatments. This lasted nearly a year. But during each visit she’d meet fellow victims of cancer. These were women who were suffering financially as well as physically. They were women who had to stop eating in order to pay their medical bills. They were women who were without electric and heat, evicted from their homes, and too sick to work and care for their children.
Michelle Morey realized that she was blessed by comparison. She also had to stop working for a long time. However, she still had a steady income from her husband’s job and lots of help from her extended family. So she decided God – not bad luck or misfortune – had planted her among a field of destitute and despairing women. She determined to make it her mission to be a blessing to others – to be a light in darkness.
So she began by paying heat and electric bills for people. She bought groceries for others. She paid for childcare. Then she started the “Pay it Forward” Fund, based on the 2001 movie, Pay it Forward. At the time of the article her efforts raised more than $250,000 and provided desperately needed assistance to more than 1,500 people.
And somewhere in the process she ceased dreading her visits to the clinic. As Michelle sought to fix the problems of others, she stopped bemoaning her own. As she stopped asking God, “Why did this happen to me?” and sought to bless others in her adversity, she discovered her true purpose in life. It was to be God’s light in a dark place and God’s salt and healing in a wounded world (Matthew 5:13-16).
Once we accept God’s mission for our lives, we too will forget about how unfair life can be. We’ll discover the true joy of being an instrument of God’s peace and healing.
Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, I’ve become sour and embittered with my constant complaining about how unfair life is. I’ve worn myself out trying to change my circumstances. I’ve cursed the darkness instead of lighting a candle. Please help me to be a light in darkness. Help me to see my painful situation as an opportunity to bless others. Amen.
