Lesson from a 14 Year Old

It is amazing how kids can open your eyes to things. Each day at the work site, many of the children from the village come to visit. One of their favorite things to do is use our digital cameras. That was fun until they wanted to see all the pictures saved on my camera. As two 14 year old girls scrolled through my pictures, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed as they saw vacation pictures, wedding pictures, pictures of our church…. all of a sudden now, looking very luxurious, much more so than what I would describe my life normally. My stomach turned when we got to pictures of my house. I was mortified thinking to myself how bad they must feel seeing that…. was I wrong. After seeing the pictures of my home they took me by the hand and led me through their village so I could see their house since they got to see mine. They were so excited to introduce me to their mother and take me inside. Even though their entire home was smaller than a two car garage, they were so proud and happy to share it with me. It became clear to me that even though they are financially poor, they are rich in spirit, love and family. You can tell by their ability to share in the simple joys of things like welcoming complete strangers into their home. Next time I am feeling the burdens of life I will remember how rich I am in spirit, love and family.

written by Josh Fuller