My 23rd birthday is about a week away and this year I would like to ask you for a special gift. I know that, personally, I often get caught up in thinking about what I don’t have and not in what I do have. I spend my time thinking about what I wish I had instead of the things I do have and just take for granted. Several months ago I was listening to a podcast that shared an interesting idea on how I could give to others. They proposed that on your birthday instead of others giving you a present, you could ask others to join you in donating to a charitable cause.
So, here we go:
663,000,000 people in the world live without access to clean water. A resource which many of us take for granted, millions of people don’t have access to. There are many statistics and much research showing the shortage of clean water, but rather than my listing them all out, if you feel called to do so you can read about it in the website that will be linked.
Hurricane Irma helped remind me to put things into perspective. Many of my friends and family spent the last week without power. There has been no AC, no internet, no lights and, for all of my family who use well water run on a pump, that also meant no running water. Six days now without electricity, and all I could see on Facebook were pleas to borrow generators, complaints about no AC, and posts from people who are disgruntled with the power company. Just six days.
My point in bringing this up is not to condemn anyone for the circumstances that they were born into, but to remind you to step back and remember that many of the things we take for granted are actually huge blessings.
For my birthday, I'd like to ask for all of us to think of those who do not share our fortune. Anything that you can give helps make a difference.
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35