As I sit here and think of gratitude and something I am grateful for I can't help but think of how I learned a lesson in gratitude on my first trip to Central America. I was in Guatemala helping a village to realize a dream of clean water, something I took for granted everyday. As I remember the beautiful faces of those that greeted our team with such expectation and joy it still brings tears to my eyes and a warmness to my heart. Our team members were all from of a 1st world country.....we have things like clean water, medical treatment close to us and readily available (I know there are people that don't believe that) a grocery store that we can access etc. . The village we were in had none of those things and yet they shared all they had with us. Their best went to us, the people of the first world country ...the people that had all of the above, all the time, everyday. As we worked side by side with the men of the village drilling the well and taught the women and children of the village how to use the clean water they were going to have at the end of the week, I was amazed at their gratitude; Gratitude for the hope of clean water, gratitude for the Americans that were there to help them and gratitude for the little that they had. I remember some of our team complaining about little discomforts and thinking to myself that the amazing people of this village are grateful to live here everyday. I was honored to be a part of their lives for a short week. As we said goodbye, they expressed over and over how they would never forget us and felt such gratitude in their hearts for us and I told them those same words. I still see their faces and feel the love and gratitude from them and I am grateful I was able to learn that lesson in gratitude.
..... I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am in.... Philippians 4:10-13
No comments:
Post a Comment