I don’t think our first world hearts truly know the half of what gratitude really is. We sit in our toasty homes, and fold our cute pinterest crafts, but do we really know the depths of what gratitude is?
You and I will remain in a perpetual state of starvation, until our world is shaken from within, and we understand the desperate state of our world’s condition.
Across the world today, there are families huddled together in broken down shacks over a shared bowl of rice (for the week), having a feast. Yes, a feast. Because feasting isn’t about the food, or the things we accumulate on Fridays dubbed black, but the feast happens within a heart that’s grateful.
I’m convinced that the truly rich are found across the globe; the ones in third-world conditions. They are feasting in the dirt while we are starving at decked out tables full of glistening fine china.
So how do we gain these grateful hearts of the rich? How do we move past our selfish first-world problems and gain the heartbeat of those huddled in the dirt with smiles beaming from within?
I think the only answer is, we simply must go. At some point in our life, we must go and travel beyond our selfish ways. Just go. Until we go, and see, our minds and hearts simply cannot fully mesh and merge as one.
So go. Maybe it won’t be right now, but make room in your life to go on a mission trip to a third-world country. You can close your eyes to the needs a world away, but when you step onto that foreign soil and witness the love and gratitude, your hearts will truly be full forever; and you will know what it means to be truly rich!
Some great opportunities for you and I to consider:
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Great post!
I am trying to instill in my children to have a servants heart. Last year, we began supporting Compassion International by “adopting” Joshua from Tanzania. It has been such a blessing to our family. We correspond with him on somewhat of a regular basis. We exchange letters and pictures, and the joy that comes through our house when these notes are received are astounding! We pray nightly for Joshua, that the “gift” he receives monthly through CI, is helping with his studies, necessities and for him to realize that he is loved so much by our Lord, and his family here in the USA as well. Great post, and I encourage all to consider stepping out of their comfort zones and reach out to others. If supporting one of the above mentioned is not feasible, then paying for someone’s coffee behind you can be a step at an act of kindness.