~ with photos that didn't make the cut
I don't remember sleeping last night - only endless painful hours of rearranging pillows and blankets and the heating pad - and the still dark hour when I woke Louis to help me out of bed to take meds and find comfort elsewhere.
But I've got it good. So. Very. Good.
So good, it's embarrassing. I have a clean dry bed, electricity and air-conditioning, running water (hot and plenty of it), access to health care and medicine for every need, a husband and daughter who wait on me, and pick up the slack, grandlittles to love on, and the best praying friends.
We have a stocked pantry and refrigerator, a house with more square footage than three adults need, and more books(a dozen Bibles or more) than we'll ever be able to read.
I'm rich and spoiled and I my heart is broken over the malnourished children and cholera house in Haiti and the crisis in the horn of Africa - embarrassed that I ever complain (even silently) about waiting in line to buy groceries or about the cost of gasoline or that it's too hot to leave my air-conditioned house to go outside. Embarrassing.
I'm thinking today about Ann's post yesterday and the resources she recommended. Like my friend, Margie, I just might order one of those cookbooks...and like Ann, slip out of my shoes...because of grace.
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Yesterday I followed a Martha Stewart recipe to bake a fresh peach and blueberry pie, only I didn't have enough of the sweet Georgia peaches my friend, Jane, gave me so I supplemented with frozen peaches that probably didn't thaw adequately, and had to substitute corn starch for tapioca, and the store-bought pie crust fell apart. The end result was more like a peach-blueberry cobbler, so that's what I told everyone we were having, and we ate every last bite. Next time I'll use all fresh peaches, tapioca and home-made pastry and maybe it'll really be pie.
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I must take a nap. I keep falling asleep at the computer with my fingers on the keyboard and then waking up to find a long row of sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss typed into this post, but before I do, would y'all please tell me what breaks your heart this day? Where do you see the richness of your life compared with poverty and suffering - and what do you think should be our response that truly makes a difference and eases the suffering?
7 comments:
I am so touched by your non-complaining ways.I too have so much to be thankful for,despite the fact that God called my husband home,before I was ready for him to go.Now my heart breaks at the thought of watching another family member go through the dying process.Jake's sister also has pancreatic cancer and I see her deteriorating just like Jake.
I too am touched by the starving in the horn of Africa...and by contrast, I have so much. I really don't deserve to complain about the heat and humidity. Praying that God will show me how to reach out to the hurting and needy and poor of our world.
Today we bought a case of water, we will be taping a Bible verse (not sure which one yet) to the bottles and handing them out when we see homeless on the streets. There are those in need of water and the living water of Jesus even in the very affluent neighborhoods of our city.
I think that's part of the problem sometimes. The sheer magnitude of the need, coupled with the fact that it's so far away, makes a person feel frustrated. You can pray or send money, but it would be so much richer to be able to DO something tangible other than write a check. Hmmm...
And yes, I'm a whiner, complainer, grumbler, belly-acher, self-pitier - in other words, pretty ordinary. Thanks for a perspective that reminds me again to look for and appreciate all the blessings rather than focusing on the hard spots. It could be MUCH harder. Hugs!
Sometimes it's difficult to remember the bounty we're blessed with - to truly cultivate a grateful heart. Hunger breaks my heart - in this country and beyond - and the tragedy in Norway, and the never-ending tragedy in Japan. How my heart aches for our world....
Patricia, I'm so sorry that you are having so much pain. I am thankful that you have such a loving support system.
My heart was broken today when I saw that a friend was selling her belongings because she and her husband are both unemployed. Seeing her "friends" lack of empathy as they commented on her goods for sale, claiming what they wanted. It was actually quite shocking to me. With my own husband unemployed and knowing that soon we could be in that same position, it was not too difficult for me to put myself in her shoes and weep for her.
I sent her a message expressing my sorrow for her losses. While she was gracious publicly, she expressed her shock to me privately.
When someone has a fire or a tornado strikes, people are filled with compassion, but when someone looses everything due to job loss, for some reason, people don't have that same compassion. Almost as if they think it was self-imposed.
Anyway sorry for the lengthy comment, but this has really disturbed me tonight.
Praying that you have a peaceful and restful night of sleep.
Sometimes it's difficult to remember the bounty we're blessed with - to truly cultivate a grateful heart. Hunger breaks my heart - in this country and beyond - and the tragedy in Norway, and the never-ending tragedy in Japan. How my heart aches for our world....
I think that's part of the problem sometimes. The sheer magnitude of the need, coupled with the fact that it's so far away, makes a person feel frustrated. You can pray or send money, but it would be so much richer to be able to DO something tangible other than write a check. Hmmm...
And yes, I'm a whiner, complainer, grumbler, belly-acher, self-pitier - in other words, pretty ordinary. Thanks for a perspective that reminds me again to look for and appreciate all the blessings rather than focusing on the hard spots. It could be MUCH harder. Hugs!
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