I visited with a friend today and told her about some of my trip. It is really too much to share in one sitting. I told her about my drive through South Dakota, which I loved. And while I was there, I ended up near the St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain. The artifacts and stories in the museum left me feeling very sad about the way the Indian’s were mistreated. My friend and I talked about how people have been mistreating one another since Adam and Eve disobeyed God. In our “modern world”, there is still greed, arrogance, and the hunger for personal power. We wondered how God can let things go so badly for so long. But then, we talked about the missionaries who came to minister to those who are suffering. In the case of the Indians, they built a school and continue to teach them to better themselves and the world around them. That also happens today. Not just missionaries, but ordinary people spend themselves for the benefit of others. I see it all the time. They may not make headline news, but I know people who are caring for others, advocating for those who are struggling, and showing up for people in need. As Jesus said in today’s Gospel from Matthew chapter 10:

“Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.”

In other words, God know all about us. He knows our inner thoughts, our hearts, our motivations. We cannot hide anything from Him. We cannot control what others do, or when our time to leave this earth will be. But we can choose to do our best for one another while we are here. And we can choose to follow Jesus, keeping our souls from perishing.

I Found God today pondering the way people can choose to treat one another.