On being significant to others

The other day I was talking to my friend about trials. It seems like everyone gets one big thing in life that is REALLY hard on them- some challenge that defines them. But then we got to thinking. And we were comparing our problems with the problems of people who are a lot worse off then us- and we were thinking that we have it pretty good. When I compare one of my small trials like trying to pay for college to the trial of a child trying to raise their siblings because they have no parents, or starvation, or something big like that- I'm BLESSED! I'm blessed that my problem is that I have to pay for college! Because you know what? I get to GO to college! So we're talking about this and she said something to me that I'm pretty sure will have an impact on the rest of my life. She said that some people don't have huge trials like that. For some people who have so many blessings and really have it that good- the trial is what they will do with it, what they will make of themselves, and how they will become someone significant through using their blessings to help others! Isn't that cool?

So now a story that relates to people who help out. I been not living in Rexburg for a little while now and I've just been noticing updates from my favorite charity organization there via facebook- and I'm just SO proud of how much they have been improving and expanding recently I just have to talk about it!

Once upon a time I was living in Rexburg and I was new there. So naturally I didn't know very many people and I had a bit of extra time on my hands due to the lack of friends. I stumbled across a place called the Family Crisis Center. Let me tell you about it- because it became my favorite place in Rexburg and I just couldn't ever stop going back. They have three main purposes.
- Food Bank- this is the one I participated in the most. Once a week the local grocery stores would donate all their extra food that was soon to expire and we would add it to the supply of non-perishable donations and hand out boxes of food to families who are struggling financially. I can't even tell you how much this touched me and changed a lot of my views. I certainly had a lot more sympathy for people in poverty. Because as much as people on Welfare very often get a lot of bad things said about them- there are a LOT of people who are REALLY struggling and really do need help! It certainly makes you want to do more for other people when you hand a family a box of food and the two year old girl gets THAT excited that she finally can have juice again! Just to see that one simple box of food can give someone hope. It's an incredible feeling.
- Family Crisis- they give counseling, shelter, food, and all sorts of help to victims of domestic violence. A lot of the material help they give these people is through donations from the community.
- Thrift Store- because they are ever looking for more ways to help. They had a lot of donations that they weren't using- so they made a thrift store with all the extra stuff and all the profit goes toward helping the victims. Plus- who doesn't love thrift store?