compassion

                                                (photo credit - Jeff Goins' blog post)

My life is so simple here.

I just read Jeff Goin's post from Uganda.  What an amazing story, what an amazing place.  And here I sit in my lovely heated home, with electricity that is always on, water that always runs, toilets that always flush (I hope), and a closet full of clothes to choose from.  I am so blessed.

As a matter of fact, yesterday, my arm hurt from carrying too many groceries at once up the front steps.

Talk about a First World problem.  Sheesh.

Jeff's post transported me to another part of the world where life is hard.  I've been over there- past Africa, all the way to India.  Conditions are similar; cultures are vastly different.  Everyone should have to take a trip like that at one point in their life, because it's good to get "out there" and see some of the rest of the world.   By the same token, it's hard to know how to live differently when we come "back here" and are forced back into our comfortable lives, struggling to know how to make a difference.  Prayer, of course, always helps and works and is best.  God is in control of the entire world, every nation and country, so certainly speaking to Him about what we've seen and encountered when we've been far from home is a pretty good idea.

Contributing financially is also an option. The trip that Jeff is on is connected with Compassion International, and you can sponsor a child through that organization.  That might be the best human option, because our monthly contribution can translate directly to helping a child.  As he wrote,

"Despite how small $38/month may seem, it makes a tremendous difference in the life of a child. I saw the evidence today in the lives of slum children who now have school uniforms and books and a hope that defies circumstances."

I believe the key is to provide what we can now for the children, for they are that country's adults of tomorrow.

It stands to reason that by reaching the children, we are reaching the future.

(photo credit - Jeff Goins' blog post)