Putting Things in Perspective
We must put our lives into perspective. We all have our problems, but we also have so many blessings. A few hours ago, at about 4am, Reina called out for help from the other room. Jeffrey, a thirteen year-old who came to live with us about 2 months ago, was having convulsions/seizures. At the moment, Jeffrey is at the hospital awaiting treatment.
Jeffrey has been an alcoholic since the age of 5. Can you imagine? We have been rehabilitating him over the past 2 months, and it has been a challenging process. Fortunately Jeffrey is a very mild-tempered and obedient kid so he doesn’t purposely get himself in trouble. But he is going through withdrawal, depression, etc…
A few days ago, a couple that I have become quite close to spoke to me about what they have been going through. They have been experiencing very difficult times (more so than usual). In one week, the wife lost a sister in a car accident, and the couple was forced to move out of their home (for reasons I won’t get into here). Then when the couple moved into a house in a different neighborhood, the husband was robbed at knifepoint within the first few days of their move. They also no longer have a car to use, and two of their three children have been very sick in the last week.
I spent the last week being in charge of the children’s residential home. I often forget that these children have backgrounds of neglect and abuse because they are so loving and smiley. But over the last week, as I dealt with the various problems the children keep having, I kept thinking how their situations would be so much better if their backgrounds had been different. If the 15 year-old girl hadn’t been raped and impregnated by her stepfather, she would be going to school with the other kids. She is very intelligent and has a lot of potential. She really wants to better her situations, especially for her little baby, and I think she will be able to do it as long as she doesn’t give up.
Another boy at the home is deaf and mute. He’s somewhere between age 11-13 (we don’t know for sure because there is no birth certificate for him, and we have no idea who his parents are). He’s finally started going to a special school and is doing much better, but what a shame that he has not been able to communicate effectively for all these years. How frustrating it must be for him! We don’t yet know the exact neglect and abuse he endured, but there are definitely signs of a troubled past.
These are just a few anecdotes that keep me in check and help me put my own life in perspective. Sure, the thoughts and worries in my life are valid, and I should definitely give them heed so that I can do something about them, but the more important thing to remember is that I am loved, I am taken care of, and I am blessed. I have no chronic health problems, I have no unplanned baby to take care of, I have all my senses, and I have the opportunity to have a career where I can serve others and initiate change. I have the potential and the opportunities, and I will not waste them.
Jeffrey has been an alcoholic since the age of 5. Can you imagine? We have been rehabilitating him over the past 2 months, and it has been a challenging process. Fortunately Jeffrey is a very mild-tempered and obedient kid so he doesn’t purposely get himself in trouble. But he is going through withdrawal, depression, etc…
A few days ago, a couple that I have become quite close to spoke to me about what they have been going through. They have been experiencing very difficult times (more so than usual). In one week, the wife lost a sister in a car accident, and the couple was forced to move out of their home (for reasons I won’t get into here). Then when the couple moved into a house in a different neighborhood, the husband was robbed at knifepoint within the first few days of their move. They also no longer have a car to use, and two of their three children have been very sick in the last week.
I spent the last week being in charge of the children’s residential home. I often forget that these children have backgrounds of neglect and abuse because they are so loving and smiley. But over the last week, as I dealt with the various problems the children keep having, I kept thinking how their situations would be so much better if their backgrounds had been different. If the 15 year-old girl hadn’t been raped and impregnated by her stepfather, she would be going to school with the other kids. She is very intelligent and has a lot of potential. She really wants to better her situations, especially for her little baby, and I think she will be able to do it as long as she doesn’t give up.
Another boy at the home is deaf and mute. He’s somewhere between age 11-13 (we don’t know for sure because there is no birth certificate for him, and we have no idea who his parents are). He’s finally started going to a special school and is doing much better, but what a shame that he has not been able to communicate effectively for all these years. How frustrating it must be for him! We don’t yet know the exact neglect and abuse he endured, but there are definitely signs of a troubled past.
These are just a few anecdotes that keep me in check and help me put my own life in perspective. Sure, the thoughts and worries in my life are valid, and I should definitely give them heed so that I can do something about them, but the more important thing to remember is that I am loved, I am taken care of, and I am blessed. I have no chronic health problems, I have no unplanned baby to take care of, I have all my senses, and I have the opportunity to have a career where I can serve others and initiate change. I have the potential and the opportunities, and I will not waste them.
posted by starburst at
10:31
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