we never appreciate
I don't blog much, so hopefully this will be worth it.
Two things today made me realize how much we as a society(meaning Americans in general) don't appreciate what we have.
The church I go to gave $150,000 last year to a church in South Africa to build an AIDS hospice. On a continent and a country where the AIDS rate is close to 50%, this is a big deal. Its the only one of its kind in S. Africa and our head pastor, Brian, went over last weekend for its dedication. Today they showed a brief video of that and he related a story of a woman he met there who had lost her husband. The reason why was because both he and their daughter had diabetes and they couldn't afford insulin for both of them. So the father said to give the daughter the insulin and as a result, he died. What Brian said though was the lady had a look of joy on her face despite the loss and in a country that has so little, so many people live lives full of joy. It made me think that in our country, which Brian mentioned has an epidemic of depression(a true statement I think), we have SO much, but take it for granted and most of us have very little joy in our lives.
The second happend just a few minutes ago. I was sitting at my computer listening/watching the movie "Memphis Belle" on AMC. If you don't know, its a true story about a bomber in WWII that made 25 bombing runs over Germany, which none had ever done before. At one point, a PR officer is trying to set up a party to celebrate the return of the plane when the base commander askes him to stop. The guy says no and says the commander really doesn't care about the men, just the planes. So the commander takes the guy into his and shows him letter he received after writing to families about the men who were lost. The movie goes into voice overs of the letters, most of them thanking the commander, all of them heart wrenching. It made me realize that we forget what the men and women in the armed services give and have given for us. I also felt ashamed that I never made the choice to join. Whether it was right or wrong, the choice was made. I hope I always appreciate the lives that have been lost in order to protect my life and freedoms, no matter if I agree with the cause or not.
Just a look into my mind. I guess I'm taking the advice of a friend on here(thanks Kristin) on a way to clear my mind. I think it helps.
Two things today made me realize how much we as a society(meaning Americans in general) don't appreciate what we have.
The church I go to gave $150,000 last year to a church in South Africa to build an AIDS hospice. On a continent and a country where the AIDS rate is close to 50%, this is a big deal. Its the only one of its kind in S. Africa and our head pastor, Brian, went over last weekend for its dedication. Today they showed a brief video of that and he related a story of a woman he met there who had lost her husband. The reason why was because both he and their daughter had diabetes and they couldn't afford insulin for both of them. So the father said to give the daughter the insulin and as a result, he died. What Brian said though was the lady had a look of joy on her face despite the loss and in a country that has so little, so many people live lives full of joy. It made me think that in our country, which Brian mentioned has an epidemic of depression(a true statement I think), we have SO much, but take it for granted and most of us have very little joy in our lives.
The second happend just a few minutes ago. I was sitting at my computer listening/watching the movie "Memphis Belle" on AMC. If you don't know, its a true story about a bomber in WWII that made 25 bombing runs over Germany, which none had ever done before. At one point, a PR officer is trying to set up a party to celebrate the return of the plane when the base commander askes him to stop. The guy says no and says the commander really doesn't care about the men, just the planes. So the commander takes the guy into his and shows him letter he received after writing to families about the men who were lost. The movie goes into voice overs of the letters, most of them thanking the commander, all of them heart wrenching. It made me realize that we forget what the men and women in the armed services give and have given for us. I also felt ashamed that I never made the choice to join. Whether it was right or wrong, the choice was made. I hope I always appreciate the lives that have been lost in order to protect my life and freedoms, no matter if I agree with the cause or not.
Just a look into my mind. I guess I'm taking the advice of a friend on here(thanks Kristin) on a way to clear my mind. I think it helps.
posted by Andrew at 2:45 AM
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