Tired & Broken
01 June 2017 @ 03:23
I find myself tired and a bit broken. I lay awake at 3 a.m. in a camp bunkbed pondering 'goodness'. The quality that we all possess to some extent. Each and every human being has that one thing that brings it to the forefront. A new baby; a pet; a family member; a sick friend or perhaps a neighbor hit by catastrophe. Sadly in this day and age it even seems that, for some, goodness never extends beyond self. The goodness that I am lying here pondering is not that kind of goodness. It is the goodness that extends beyond self and is, to some extent, sacrificial. Some folks possess it in minute quantities while others have it in abundance.
Since the mid 90’s I have had the incredible blessing of being able to spend a week around the beginning of June with the latter and I can only say that these people have become as family. Some of us may be here because it is our job. Maybe for some it's simply that. That thing we must do tin order to put bread on the table. For others it's a career that we have pursued because of a passion to make a difference in certain areas of society. Regardless of where we fall in those categories, I can only say shame on us if we let this come to an end. For a week I have watched children of different ethnic backgrounds join hands to sing, to laugh, to learn, to support each other and for this one week have the opportunity to see what a more perfect world looks like. Put aside the fact that they have learned more about their disease and ways to manage it. This is so much more than that. This is to give hope to the children about the world around them. To let them know that they are important and cared about. Loved! For some it may be the first opportunity they have had to experience real caring and cooperation and we have been given the gift of being able to be a part of that.
Since the mid 90’s I have had the incredible blessing of being able to spend a week around the beginning of June with the latter and I can only say that these people have become as family. Some of us may be here because it is our job. Maybe for some it's simply that. That thing we must do tin order to put bread on the table. For others it's a career that we have pursued because of a passion to make a difference in certain areas of society. Regardless of where we fall in those categories, I can only say shame on us if we let this come to an end. For a week I have watched children of different ethnic backgrounds join hands to sing, to laugh, to learn, to support each other and for this one week have the opportunity to see what a more perfect world looks like. Put aside the fact that they have learned more about their disease and ways to manage it. This is so much more than that. This is to give hope to the children about the world around them. To let them know that they are important and cared about. Loved! For some it may be the first opportunity they have had to experience real caring and cooperation and we have been given the gift of being able to be a part of that.