All I have needed thy hand hath provided…

This might sound sort of cheesy, but I’m thankful this year that I’ve made it this far.

When I think about it for a moment I realize that I have gotten 30 years with more happiness than sadness. I have had more than 7 years with the man I love with out tragedy or incident. I have beautiful children who are healthy and smart and, thus far, safe. When I think about how remarkable that is, compared to what most of the world experiences, I find myself over whelmed by gratitude.

Sure it hasn’t always been easy. There have been difficulties to face, and challenges to overcome, but we have faced them, we have overcome. We have choices, options, and we have pulled through every hard circumstance thus far. I have faith that we will do so again if need be.

I feel that with such blessing comes great responsibility, to be wise with the privilege and wealth I have been given. I am poor by many western standards, but just in terms of education I am wealthier than most women in the world. I have a faithful, steadfast, imaginative husband. I have had three pregnancies, all of which where perfectly healthy, however uncomfortable, and have resulted in 3 very strong healthy babies. These are not things to be taken lightly. And though I sometimes feel the need to grumble when the Baby is awake at 2 am because she is teething and has a slight fever, I am humbled by the awareness of how many women long for a healthy child to stay up at night with, and don’t have one, who have lost a child, a baby, a fetus. And I can not complain right now.

I have been reading a book called “The New Friars” by Scott Bessenecker. In it are several very insightful chapters that discuss intractable poverty and it’s many causes. I will have more to say on this soon. One of the things that stuck out for me was how he points out that one of the reasons it is so hard for the poor to change their situation is that the systems put in place to help them are usually designed by those who aren’t poor, and who take for granted certain things, like access to computers, transportation, and refrigeration.

I often feel like the posts that I put up about helping others are the posts that echo into the vast apparent emptiness of the Internet. I won’t for a moment believe that it’s because no one else cares, because I know that’s not true. It’s far more likely that I lack the ability to write about it compellingly, or that my ideas sound naive or impractical by the time I get them out. I mention this because there is an idea that I presented at my other blog. It has to do with this idea of trying not to take for granted the things I know, and not making assumptions about what other people know. It’s a small thing really, but simple enough in concept and execution that I think it’s within the grasp of most of us that hang out here in the Internet. The thing is, Though in itself it’s a small thing, It’s the kind of thing that can have far reaching effects, for families, for children, for the burden on our health care system. So if you have a moment, would you please click over and read, and then maybe do just one small thing. It’s a start.
And if you could comment and let me know if you have, I would find that really encouraging.

Thanks.