Saturday, April 14, 2012

How Much is Enough?

In February my heart was moved.  Twisted.  Pierced.

I came across the Compassion International website and saw 40 helpless little eyes looking back at me.  I went to the next page, and the next...there were more and more and more... 37 pages worth.  Faces of children from 26 countries, all impoverished, hurting, hungry and hopeless.  But hope was available to them through Compassion's ministry, and I could help give it to one child, or two, or more.  Compassion had already stepped into these children's lives when they were invited to sign up with their local Christian churches and outreach centers for a chance at relief from their suffering.  Extra food, clothing, afterschool tutoring and a safe place to go to get off the mean streets of desperation...all in the name of Jesus Christ.  I could not turn my eyes away.  Besides all of the stellar ratings and testimonies of how the organization was legitimate, I was drawn by the main emphasis of Compassion which was the chance to form a real relationship with a needy child through letters and pictures.  It was stressed that the encouragement and hope I could offer a child through my letters was as important as the money I pledged each month.  Just by voicing my concern, love and belief in a child,  I could lift his heart and shed the light of Jesus into an otherwise dark life of hardship.  My own children had grown up with those words of encouragement and that message of hope every day.  Surely I could give the same to children who rarely or never heard words of blessing from those around them who were just trying to survive.  I evaluated my money situation as the thought kept coming back to me over and over, "what do I really need?"  My needs were more than met every day in America; and pretty much all of my wants.  When my stomach rumbled a little bit and I said, "I'm starving!", I had no idea what that meant.  Most of the children on Compassion's website were often lucky to get one meal a day, and that often substandard by our standards.  How could I not give up my daily 44 ounce diet pop from the mini-mart and the new purse that would match my summer outfit?  And so I welcomed Andreas from Indonesia and Thamyres from Brazil into my heart.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Julie! I found your blog through your status update on OC. Love what you have done so far! You have the heart of an advocate! :)

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