As I look out the window of the living room of my 9th-floor apartment, my heart skips a beat. A little girl, about three or four years old, stands on the 6^th floor of a building under construction next door to us. Her mom bends over the cement blocks a couple of feet away from her. Two other laborers hammer beams on the other side of the building. The walls of the sixth floor of the building are not up as yet—there’s just a rough cement floor with pillars of iron beams jutting out at intervals.

But there she is in a cotton dress, her hair gathered in a small pigtail, standing between the gaping holes of the building, about fifty feet above the ground. Despite the dangerous environment, the little girl is not supervised.

I almost call out from my window to her mother to signal that the child could easily fall. But I’m afraid that my voice could startle the child and she could lose her footing.

So I watch helplessly from the comfort of my home, praying she will make it safely down.

The little girl I happened to see from my window is just one of the millions of children of construction laborers, garbage collectors, and other daily wage earners in India. These kids live with their families in India’s bustling cities, tucked away under blue tents that they call home, in neighborhoods that don’t have running water, electricity, or sanitation.

Just yesterday, as part of a non-profit that I work for, I happened to visit one of those blue-tent communities. My white clothes and silver-toned shoes looked ridiculously incongruous in that settlement where about 300 families live in makeshift accommodations. Heaps of garbage pile up in corners. Stray dogs follow us down narrow dirt pathways.

Typically, when the parents are away at work, the toddlers are left in the care of the “older” sibling, who may be about five years old themselves. Sometimes, the little ones are carted along to construction sites, like the little girl on the 6^th floor, or to garbage dumps where they drink from almost-empty juice boxes.

But when we walked through the blue tent community yesterday, you know what we didn’t see? We didn’t see any toddlers or pre-schoolers roaming those narrow pathways unsupervised.

That’s because every one of those children between the ages of 1 and 6 is enrolled in a preschool down the road.

The preschool was started by a friend (who I don’t believe would want to draw attention to herself.) Five years ago, when she saw children who should have been in school sitting in garbage heaps or on construction sites, she simply obeyed what God placed on her heart.

She opened a small preschool. Five kids enrolled. The parents from the blue-tent communities were suspicious of who this lady was and why she would want to educate, nurture, and feed their children.

But my friend persisted. She didn’t have the answers all laid out. But she took it one step at a time, and one day at a time. Today, she has opened 22 preschools that serve 1000 children of daily wage workers.

Each child is given breakfast, lunch, and a snack, medical care, a Montessori education, and the joy of learning.

Yesterday, it was heart-wrenching to see the startling poverty and living conditions of the blue tent folks. But it was heart-warming to see toddlers and pre-schoolers learning, playing, and coloring in a safe, nurturing environment.

And it all started with one lady who started small. She gave her little to the Lord. And He took what she offered and multiplied it to bless others. 

So often we think to ourselves, “The problem is too big. My efforts are not going to make a difference.”

When we encounter challenges, both personal and in the world around us, we can easily feel hopeless.

But here’s the thing: God is not asking us to tackle it all right away. And He never sends us into the fray alone.

You don’t need to draw up the plan to feed the 5000. You just need to offer up your five loaves and two fish. He’ll work the rest out.

Maybe the “big picture” is too much to handle right now. But, the truth is, there’s an even bigger picture that statistics don’t reveal: No matter what we see around us, God is still on the throne and one day He will make all things right.

You don’t need to draw up the plan to feed the 5000. You just need to offer up your five loaves and two fish. He’ll work the rest out.

In the meantime, we are called to take those steps of faith, no matter how shaky and small they might be. The Word of God gives us a lamp unto our feet, illuminating that one step up ahead. It’s not a floodlight that reveals the whole path. But just enough to see what’s right in front of us.

My job is to trust God whose mercies are new every morning. My job is to walk in the good works that He has prepared for me to do. Not all of them all at once. But the ones He has laid on my heart. My job is to walk in step with the Spirit.

May we take a step back and see that God is still on the throne and will right every wrong.

May we take a step forward and do that one thing He’s laid on our hearts.

I love this quote I came across by Edward Everett Hale.

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.

The enemy may try to discourage you, paralyze you, or distract you. But remember: One step at a time. One day at a time. One good work at a time.

 

 

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If you would like to learn more about the preschools started by my friend, please go to www.diyaghar.org