Lately, as I just finished my first year of college, I have been pondering and question the concept of "what's next." I often have questions about my future, but at this particular time in life, I am extra curious and extra eager to know what lies on the path ahead of me. I was wondering and questioning and pining over the fact that everyone seems to have a plan and I don't. However, a picture that I saw the other day changed my life a little.
As Americans, we have far too much entitlement, or at least we think we do. I am the most guilty of this. We don't make the sports team even though we've put in so much time practicing and working out and we think to ourselves, "I deserved this." We don't get the job that we went to school for 4 years to get and we think to ourselves, "I deserved this." We do what is expected of us in order to reach our goal, but when we don't succeed, we all are guilty of thinking, "I deserved this."
In about a month, I will embark on my first journey out of the country to Morency, Haiti, in hopes of spreading love and the gospel to people of all ages. I was sitting in on a meeting a few weeks ago which was oriented to tell my team and I more information about the trip, what all we would be doing there, how to prepare for the trip, and how to behave among the peoples there. In the midst of a leader explaining to the group that it was considered rude and disrespectful to point at things in Haiti, I couldn't stop staring at a picture of a child wearing shoes that looked something like this:
These are footwear made from some sort of string tied around water bottles. As I looked at this picture, I not only imagined what my life would be like without shoes, but I developed a sense of guilt that reminded me of how entitled I think I am sometimes. I think that I deserve a raise because I think that I work hard. I think that I deserve an education because that's what people do: they go to school. I think that I deserve a new pair of shoes because mine have a small hole in the side. After pondering how entitled people can be and realizing the various luxuries that I am blessed to have in my life, I realized that we are really not deserving of anything. The way I see it, God put me on this earth to live out His will and to finish His work by His will. Not mine. I do not deserve anything.
There are people who have the worry of where their next meal will come from or where they will sleep for the night. Yet here I am, worrying about what my major will be in college so that I can have a successful career. It is so easy to feel entitled and to feel like we deserve things. But the only deserving one is the great God that we serve. We are not deserving of His faithfulness, forgiveness, or graciousness. We are not entitled to God's love, but He gives it away like He's made of it. Which is how we should love others.
That is why I'm thankful for shoes. One picture reminded me that I am not deserving or entitled to anything. One picture reminded me to be thankful for not only my material and tangible possessions, but reminded me of the great love that my God is constantly giving me, and how thankful I should be for that. When we put on shoes, we should be reminded how blessed we are to walk in those shoes, and how blessed we are to walk with such an awesome God. That is why I am thankful for shoes.
