this is life
More than a decade ago my brother wrote a song that says ". . . whether we even taste it this is life. . ." and what's growing inside my heart these days is more and more of a desire to really live this life, to really taste it, because we can live half awake dwelling in the monotony of our days or we can immerse ourselves in all that's around us and embrace the life that's placed before us.
and some days that's going to be marked by joy and some days that's going to be marked by pain. Tasting life is bittersweet sometimes, but I don't want to miss any of it.
some days life is taking my friend for her first ultrasound and being there when she finds out her fourth baby is going to be a girl just as she was hoping for.
some days my life is seeing an old man dying and his family asking me to help buy him food when that's not even the answer to the situation, when what he really needs is to be in the hospital, but they don't get it, they aren't willing to do what it would take to help him stay at the hospital.
some days it's hearing one of my girls is now first in her class at school and seeing her trying so hard to do so well and seeing her working even now to be the best doctor she can be in the future. And not knowing what makes me happier - seeing her doing so well or seeing her grandparents, her mom, her aunts and uncles so proud of her and encouraging her.
some days it's a small boy asking if I can give him rice too, because his mom is gone trying to work, but hasn't been able to make enough money for food.
every day it's being greeted by small voices wherever I go calling out my name and fighting over who gets to hold my fingers not realizing I really just love them all.
some days days my life is when I get to introduce one of our kids to the people who have been sponsoring her and the response is sheer joy and love all around.
some days it's when my friend says her daughter wants to meet me before I leave - and she didn't tell her daughter to say anything to me - and so I meet her and she wants to know if I can help her with her school fees because she doesn't have enough money.
some days it's moms saying they want their kids to come study and work with us when they grow up and I agree saying I want that too and I can see in another ten years we will have plenty of staff.
some days the needs of my friends seem so very pressing and heavy until I take a deep breath and realize I'm actually blessed beyond measure that my many, many friends trust me enough to ask for help, to share their stories with me, for all that I've done seems so small, but Jesus is into multiplying it.
So there are days when I come away saying there is nothing more I could ask for and there are days when I come away saying there is nothing more I can give, but this is life. And I want to really taste this life that is before me.
and some days that's going to be marked by joy and some days that's going to be marked by pain. Tasting life is bittersweet sometimes, but I don't want to miss any of it.
some days life is taking my friend for her first ultrasound and being there when she finds out her fourth baby is going to be a girl just as she was hoping for.
some days my life is seeing an old man dying and his family asking me to help buy him food when that's not even the answer to the situation, when what he really needs is to be in the hospital, but they don't get it, they aren't willing to do what it would take to help him stay at the hospital.
some days it's hearing one of my girls is now first in her class at school and seeing her trying so hard to do so well and seeing her working even now to be the best doctor she can be in the future. And not knowing what makes me happier - seeing her doing so well or seeing her grandparents, her mom, her aunts and uncles so proud of her and encouraging her.
some days it's a small boy asking if I can give him rice too, because his mom is gone trying to work, but hasn't been able to make enough money for food.
every day it's being greeted by small voices wherever I go calling out my name and fighting over who gets to hold my fingers not realizing I really just love them all.
some days days my life is when I get to introduce one of our kids to the people who have been sponsoring her and the response is sheer joy and love all around.
some days it's when my friend says her daughter wants to meet me before I leave - and she didn't tell her daughter to say anything to me - and so I meet her and she wants to know if I can help her with her school fees because she doesn't have enough money.
some days it's moms saying they want their kids to come study and work with us when they grow up and I agree saying I want that too and I can see in another ten years we will have plenty of staff.
some days the needs of my friends seem so very pressing and heavy until I take a deep breath and realize I'm actually blessed beyond measure that my many, many friends trust me enough to ask for help, to share their stories with me, for all that I've done seems so small, but Jesus is into multiplying it.
So there are days when I come away saying there is nothing more I could ask for and there are days when I come away saying there is nothing more I can give, but this is life. And I want to really taste this life that is before me.
Comments
Love
David
Thank you for such a blessed opportunity!
Ed and Mary
My name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favour:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Cambodia? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Cambodia in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and a original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39 Bajo C
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com, where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Thanks for reading!