We've been confronted with the issue of poverty living here in luxurious So. Cal. of all places. We see homeless people walking the street in front of our house several times a day. I'm doing a Beth Moore Bible study, and in yesterday's dvd, she said, "Anyone who has the means to BUY a book and then the education to READ the book is among the rich and privileged ones." On the other side of the world, my sister, Amanda, is working in India at an orphanage. Here's an excerpt from recent emails of hers:
"This week I heard that every year 14,000 children are abandoned by their parents and sent with a one-way ticket to the Delhi train station. Many are then snatched away and used for prostitution. I haven't been able to shake this out of my head. How do you respond to such desperate needs? The more I'm exposed to the world, the more I feel so small and incapable of making even a dent in the total despair all around us. But, my God is BIG ."
"The children are SO precious… big dark eyes and beautiful smiles. They greet us with their mischievous smiles and sparkling eyes, their runny noses and dirty bare feet, their wide-open hearts-- so easy to love!! They have captured my heart. I can't believe that these boys, so full of joy and life, could have come from such desperate backgrounds. They seem so genuinely happy-- I haven't seen a single bad attitude yet. In fact, this week they made a game of passing out their dinner plates. Each boy could tell us exactly which tin plate belonged to each boy, based on only the little scratches/dings that marked them! They eat the same dinner on the same plate every single night, and I've never heard one complaint."
Jeff and I read that with tears in our eyes. We pray for God to break our hearts with the things that break His heart. We are trying to in some small way identify with the poor...by eating what they eat. During Lent, we are committing to eating rice and beans a few times a week. Our kids do not like it. They complain and fuss. But, we hope that eventually, their little hearts will learn gratitude and generosity... and that we might learn that also. God, would You help us? "How do we, the privileged ones, act as stewards of the grace we've received?" (Beth Moore)
5 comments:
Adrienne, thanks for sharing this from such an honest and earnest heart. We feel the same way about such enormous and disproportioned advantage--it is a real struggle to make it relevant and know how to give back.
Adrienne, this is a powerful post! I really like the idea of eating what most of the rest of the world eats. God has really been showing me tons about what we "don't" experience here in America through Voice of the Martyrs. It makes me grateful everytime I read there publications. Thanks for your faithfulness in keeping us up to date on what you are learning in CA! Miss You
Sarae
Hey, this is what we're having for dinner, too! Lucky for my kids (and for us!) that it's actually one of their favorite things. We have no idea of what it means to go hungry... I'm so glad Amanda is there helping to love all those little boys! May God work in each of our hearts to not be so consumed with our own cares, that we don't even have time to care about the hurting world around us.
So wise of you, Jeff and Ade. So wise.
You're in our prayers this week-end while you're at Victory Ranch!
Can't wait to hear how God works!
Love, Mom Rack
Hi, Adrienne ... You don't know me, but I attended BBC and know who your husband is from there ... Regarding your post, we are adopting twins from Haiti, and the more I have learned about the circumstances in their birth country, the more my heart has been broken. Thank you for sharing these thoughts!
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