A recent conversation....

Soo, yes it's been awhile.

I have had some recent revelations lately. Let me fill you in (all 3 of you avid readers of mine). Now that we're settling back in after our long journey we have been asked to share our experiences with others in various formal and informal settings. Like I said before, we're looking at the world a bit differently now - and it is starting to show. I am sometimes amazed at how we (those of us who think we're all around good people, and "Christians" because we are Americans) can sometimes get so caught up in our own little worlds that we completely miss the big picture. Here is just one example (of many), just to obviate the point:

I was sharing a few photos from our trip with some co-workers. I mentioned that in one photo, it showed a family in particular had no food, no money and was pretty much out of luck. We did what we could then and there to help, knowing that it wasn't very much and wouldn't last but a couple of days. Of course, what we did do was merely a drop in the bucket - and we genuinely felt bad and hopeless that this was just one of many such situations that we encountered in the same township that day. I held back a tear as I shared with my co-workers....... And......

The response I got was this: "Well, there are poor people here - we should take care of our own first!" "True," I said - "Charity should start at home." Then on to the next picture (I think it was of a rhino or something.) What I DIDN'T say, and now wish I would have was,
"Great, so I suppose you're spending all of your spare money and time feeding the hungry here in central Illinois?"

But, I didn't of course.