People With Less

I went about my daily meditations the same as any day in Athens. I walked through the market to buy fish from fishermen. Then I came home to spend time with Lena, putting Marcus to rest, and thinking only of God's plan. Late one afternoon, I talked about how Jesus had wandered in the dessert while Satan tempted him. "He did not give in, though. Satan is all the evil in the world. He ruins life. Jesus knew who he was, and so he went on until he found his way out of the dessert. He was hungry and thirsty, but he knew his soul was more important, than earthly concerns." One man rose up, and talked about how he was tempted the other day to steal a loaf of bread because he couldn't feed his family. He had thought God was punishing him. "I know now that the devil had possessed me to steal. What am I to do when the little ones are starving?", The man said."Bring them to Jesus", I replied."Teach them to pray."  I concluded, " Prayer is better than hunger or thirst."

 As I thought about the lecture, I decided to go to the market again. I bought bread, cheese, and water, and lay them on the man's door step. I hurried away so he wouldn't see me. I heard excited cries of happiness as I left. "See how the Lord has blessed us", the man exclaimed loudly!

 Lena met me at the Parthenon, and sat down on the steps beside me. "I knew it was you," she said, " It was very nice." I sighed. "Many are being taxed, and have no food and water."I meditated that night on all I had seen. God was using me as a vessel for his holy work. I liked helping others. I thought of the man, and his children. I did a good thing, but was it enough? There is so much to do in this world. I prayed to God to give me courage in the weeks to come. Right afterwards, my cell phone rang on it's incredibly loud Hunger Games ring tone. I'm such a geek! I answered,"Hello."Hi Bower, It's Lizzie, I wanted to tell you that I'm moving to Florida with Sammy!."

I was happy for her delight, but I missed home suddenly."Maybe you could visit," Liz replied to my silence like she knew my thoughts. "I miss you, Liz," I said. She replied,"I miss you too! I am still trying to get over the fact that your in Greece. I mean,Whoa, when I walk over to your house in the morning, I have to remind myself your not there. But your doing God's work, keep it up!" I smiled over the phone as a single tear slid down my cheek. "There's so much work here!!!"I confessed. Liz listened, especially when I told her of Marcus. She then spoke, "It's OK to be in love and still do God's work. But I understand, love gets in the way. You have always held your focus. You still do, but I think God would want you to be happy while doing his work. He wouldn't want you to give up what makes us who we are." Liz's words held a lot of truth. "What if it doesn't work out?", I said."Well, that's life, Em, whether it does or doesn't, keep holding on to your faith."Lizzie could always say the right things when I was down. That's one thing I loved about having her as a friend. As soon as it struck, midnight, I decided to get some sleep. My dreams varied, but made no sense. Morning came soon!