Joy, Thankfulness, and Roofs

A few weeks ago my dad and brother came to visit me. It had been a hard week. I had a cough, I was stressing over school work, and I was so busy that I was not getting enough rest. My dad brought along my mail from the house and I saw that I had some letters from Compassion International. I have some little girls that I sponsor and I always look forward to getting letters from them. The one little girl, Britany, that I have been sponsoring for almost 6 years now is from Guatemala and just turned 10 in August. Her mom used to write her letters for her, but over the last year she has started to write them herself and I get so excited when I recieve a new letter from her.

After my brother and dad went home I sat down on my bed to read the letter that she had sent me. I finished the letter and sat there in shock. Britany had shared so many things that made her happy and when I got to the bottom of the letter she asked me to pray for her family because the roof of their house had blown away in June. I just sat there trying to fathom what her family was going through, especially as rainy season approached. The idea of my sweet little ten year old girl and her twin little sisters not knowing if they were going to get rained on that night, or if her parents were desperately trying to come up with the money just to provide shelter for her family, hurt my heart.

When I thought about Britany and her family I realized how insignificant my worries and frustrations often are, in comparison. It really does make me think about the term "first world problems" and I am disgusted with myself for complaining so much and taking it for granted what God has given me. I have been blessed with so many things and sometimes I sit there feeling sorry for myself. Yet this young girl writes to me and excitedly tells me about the special meal she had at the Compassion project or the person in the bible that she is learning about or her favorite color. Britany has been teaching me a valuable lesson. I always hope that I am making an impact on her life, but I think she has made a bigger impact on mine.

She has taught me that I can love someone I have never met more than I could ever have imagined. She has taught me how blessed I am and how much I have to be thankful for. She has taught me that it is possible to find joy in the little things. She has taught me that there are more important things in life than what I worry about. She has taught me that giving is better than recieving. When I picture her face I am reminded of how much God loves me, of how much she has to offer me, and how much I have to offer her. The most important things in life aren't looking good, or how soon you pay off your college debt, or whether you feel tired and don't want to go to work. It's about God, it's about the people and it's about the lives you touch. I thank God for using Britany to show me that.