December 17

On Friday night, I met with a group of women and we discussed the "brokenness" of this world.  It's true that there is so much pain and so much hurt - and I so often feel like I'm unfairly sheltered in a bubble of happiness and security.

I'm sure at some point in the history of this blog, I've mentioned that I usually don't read the newspaper - or watch the news - because it depresses the heck out of me and yes, I'd rather live in a world of oblivion than be hit with "reality" every day.  To some this is ignorant, but to me - it's necessary for my emotional survival.  Oh, but there are so many people that bravely look the ugliness of the world straight in the eye, roll up their sleeves and get busy. 

For those people...

Like our dear friend, Felicia, who took two weeks of her vacation time, donated several thousand dollars of her personal funds and then rode her bicycle around Cambodia in support of the Somaly Mam foundation which is dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking ... thank you for the hope you bring to this broken world. 

Like our dear friends, Judd and Debra, that are in the trenches everyday and who lend their energy, resources, and love to support those in desperate poverty in Mexico by bringing foods, supplies, and gifts to those without ... thank you for the light you bring to this broken world.  

Like the radiant adoptive mother that I met at the dentist's office last week, who was waiting for her two little boys to have their teeth cleaned, while she was feeding a bottle to her beautiful 3-month old foster daughter, that was born two months prematurely to a drug-addicted mother ... thank you for the compassion you bring to this broken world. 

Like my mother's cousin - whom I've never met before - but has taken in over 150 foster children in the past 30 years and has been a safe haven for little people who had no where to go ... thank you for the strength that you bring to this broken world. 

Mother Theresa said, "We can do no great things - only little things with great love."  So for the countless people, around the world, who selflessly give their lives because they are pulled so strongly in the "magnetic direction" of good .... thank you for the great love that you bring to this broken world.  

On that note ... literally ... here's a clip of a video I posted a few years ago, following my trip with The Hilarious Givers to Mexico. The purpose of our trip was to serve dinner and deliver Christmas gifts to the children of migrant workers.   It was a truly amazing experience. Except the part where I nearly died from eating a taco at a roadside stand.

(Edited to add: I'm not sure why there was a video clip for how to cook roast beef, here. YouTube got a little wacky with the video I'd embedded...)



Yes, I've posted that clip before. Twice in fact.  It's really quite a positive return on an investment when in giving .... we receive.  Although it's been a while since I've done something charitable like this and my soul definitely needs a refill.  Suffice it to say, I think it's about time someone rolls up their sleeves and gets busy doing some "little things" in the New Year.

It may be a broken world, but it's still a beautiful world.