Beauty & Smiles

My heart is heavy these past few days. I've been doing a lot of thinking. Too much thinking.

Shelbie came home from Kenya last Saturday. With her comes many heart wrenching stories. We rejoice to have her home, yet we all know she belongs there. Not here. And we try to be okay with it.

Tonight....

I lay Bodey down in bed. He lays his head down on his pillow. His very own pillow. And I cover him with our fluffy down feather blankets.

My stomach growls. I just ate a hot 4 course meal, but yet I still walk to my cupboards to rummage for a snack. I groan. All I have is ice cream. Ice cream again. Its tough.

I change Blessing's diaper. I nurse her. I snuggle her in her warm blanket. And then lie her in her bouncy seat so that I can carry on with my evening.

She whimpers in her sleep. What does she have to cry about?

I file my nails. Picking out a new color to paint them. I think to myself, Its time for a new colors...these are old and boring.

And I sit here. Thinking. Thinking of Shelbie's stories.

The three year old orphan, who had no where to go. So she was put in prison. She just wanted her mama.

The many young children, addicted to glue. Trying to forget their pain.

The little boy who asked, "Why are your parents alive, and mine are dead?"

The newly widowed mother, left with 5 children, trying to find a way to support them.

And more.

I think of Shelbie's pictures. Pictures of their homes. Pictures of their bare, dirty, shoeless feet. Their faces.

I think of the pictures of them clinging to Shelbie's arms. Hanging on her. Loving her. Needing her.

And I realize. We have it so good. I feel guilty. Complaing. Always complaining. We "need" more. We always need more. But do we?

I feel selfish. Wanting to cry...She's leaving us again. To go be with them. It breaks my heart. I want her here. But I know. We all know.

We want her; they need her.

Shelbie is trying to set the world on fire. Shelbie is making a difference in their lives. Forever. She makes me proud. I look up to my little sister. She's so young. But so wise. Wiser than her years. She has much on me. On most of us, likely.

She lights a fire in me.

Her stories makes me appreciate what I have. They make me evaluate what I deem "needs" versus "wants."

Sunday was Orphan Sunday. A day to remember the orphans. To become aware. To help.

There are over 147 million orphans around the world. Every 2.2 seconds another child is orphaned.

My children will never know the pain these children know. My heart breaks for the motherless. These children in pain.

I want to adopt them all. Give them all a loving home. Food in their belly. Shoes on their feet. A bed to sleep in. An education. But I can't.

I can however, help change ONE child's life. And raise awareness.

For $27 dollars a month, you too can help change a child's life. 100% of the proceeds goes to Every Orhpan's hope. It goes to the child who you are sponsoring. Each child needs 12 sponsors to be fully sponsored. You’re not just sending money, you’re raising an orphan to life! In the past, I have never fully thought of the meaning of sponsors to these children. Never realized how important sponsors are to them. But, hearing Shelbie's stories. I know now. It means the world to them. You mean everything to them.

$27 a month?! you might ask in surprise. As did I. How could we afford that. But we can. We all can. What we "need" and what they survive on are two very different things. We live a life of luxury. Even the poorest 5% of America is still 70% richer than the rest of the world. We need to prioritize.

How often do we spend $27 a day. On frivilous things. Fast food. A movie. A new pair of shoes, to add to our shoe collection.

Can you really truly not spare $27 a month? Consider then, giving up just one coffee a month. Pack a lunch for work instead of buying a lunch. $4 will buy a Chick for Orphans. That one chick will provide eggs, more chicks and meat. Its only $4, but its not "only" to them. Its a lot to them.

Fr. John Lynch said

“Unless we reach out and act now, a whole generation of children could die before our eyes."

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.