How is God going to write you into this story?

I have learned reccently that I really do see food differently, to sort of borrow the line from Red Lobster's new campaign. I first became aware of it when chaperoning field trips with my children at school. I would watch in horror as they threw whole school-packed box lunches in the trash. Or I would see kids eat one thing out of the box, and all of the unopened, pre-packaged veggies, unopened bags of chips and cookies, fruit cups, and the like would be collected and thrown in the trash.

It bothered me so much that I figured something had to be done about it. I contacted the principal, then the superintendent's office, the my state and representative and state senator, and finally I even sent a message to the First Lady Michelle Obama. And everyone told me the same thing, there are rules that govern that, but it seemed to me that this was such a tremendous waste.

And now,  a recent visit to my daughter's class reminded me again of what we take for granted. The exercise was supposed to help each child try vegetables and fruits they may have never tasted. What resulted was bowls and bowls of salad---lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, carrots, and so on. Now the fruit went much better, but at clean up time, at least at one table, there were 7 full bowls of salad that were thrown away. Look at how much food was thrown away! And this was just at one table in an activity that included 50 students.

We live a lavish life in America, and it is so abundant that we truly take most of it for granted. According to a recent report, "forty percent of food in the United States is never eaten, amounting to $165 billion a year in waste." Read the Study

Seeing that news story has made me more conscious. When we go out to eat, I try to see if there is platter that we can order as a family because we can never individually eat the ginormous portions they bring to each of us. When I fix my kids plates at home, I try to be more consertave on the size of their servings so that we don't get to the end of they just can't eat it all.

And when I saw all of that food that the kids picked over being thrown away, I thought of Mark Stuart, whom I had met again for the second time a few days before. Mark is someone who's life intersected mine and changed the narrative. I recently attended a worship service where Mark and others shared miraculous stories of survival and God's intervention in the lives of children in Haiti. And a quote that Mark shared stayed with me, "God has an amazing narrative that is playing out in this country. The only question is how is God going to write you into this story."

God is doing amazing things every day. And people like Mark and those who serve alongside him through Hands and Feet really are the difference between life and death for many children in Haiti. And what are you giving your life? What is it that is greater than yourself that God is calling you to?

Mark challenged me when I met him the first time to come to Haiti and see what they do. I did. And I was amazed...and I was transformed. Because it did change the lens through which I see and experience the world.

My heart is for the kids of Haiti, but is is also for the kids I get to serve in Clark County and Fayette County, and Scott County...and wherever God leads here in Kentucky and elsewhere as well. No child should go hungry, while we casually throw food away. No child should want for love, or security, or basic needs. We can do better. What will you do?How is God going to write you into this story?