"We cannot help them all!"

While working on a somewhat mindless task much of this evening, I had The Constant Gardener playing in the background.

Though there are several scenes that are truly powerful, two stood out for me this evening. The first one is right after Tessa is discharged from the hospital, she asks her husband Justin to stop. She wants them to offer a ride to a family she had met in the hospital.

"It's 40 km to [their home]. It's going to take them all night. "

"We can't involve ourselves in their lives, Tess," Justin objects. "... Be reasonable. There are millions of people. They all need help. It's what the agencies are here for."

"Yeah, but these are three people that we can help!"

And then, later in the movie, when Justin is fleeing from a raid in Southern Sudan and tries to save one girl by taking her on the UN plane, he's told that there are rules, that the UN plane can only evacuate aid workers. "There are thousands of [children] out there," the UN pilot says. "I can't make an exception for one child."

"But this is one we can help. Here!"

Often, when I simply feel overwhelmed by the needs around me, I sense the Spirit reminding me of this very concept, " . . . but you can help this one!" (It doesn't make the needs less overwhelming, though.)

I literally cannot go into a day without asking God for discernment in how/when/who to help. Because there are people who ask.

Every. Single. Day.