Never Gone to Bed Hungry

Friday morning I turned on public radio as I made my way through the hub bub of the morning in my kitchen. Public radio was already in the middle of a piece about hunger in the world. They specifically mentioned Eygpt, Cuba, and Haiti. Anyway, they were talking about a place where the children never miss school. And, the reason they never miss is because the school serves a meal of rice and beans fortified with vitamins daily. For these children that simple meal will be their only meal of the day. They went on to talk about people who come to the local hospital pretending to be in need of health care on the days the hospital will hand out food.

This story really gripped me. I have been thinking it over the past fews days. I cannot imagine being a parent unable to provide a meal for their child. The pain those parents must go through! They have to want to feed their child/children but cannot. I have never been hungry a day in my life. Yet, tonight all over the world even tonight many people do the best they can to quiet their starving, sleepy children.

My children to my shame can be pretty picky eaters. Often I ask them, "what do you want for lunch?" I have wondered if they would survive if we truly hit an economic crisis and all we could feed them was beans. I have heard that if you are hungry enough you will eat anything.

Sometimes I have complained and wished that we had a little more money. And yet my pantry is full of luxurious foods like chocolate chips, oil, honey, tortilla chips, not to mention the staples of bread, rice, vegetables, meat, etc. Having access to this much food is a real privilege.

I cannot imagine my husband having to fight for our family to have bread. Can you?

We spent 15 months in the country of Sudan. If you dial 911 there, no one is coming. I did not know before moving there what luxuries 911 and health insurance really are. If you are able to get your loved one to the hospital but do not have the money to pre-pay for the health care needed you will not get it. We had a dear friend from Malawi who needed a c-section and she could not have it until the money was in hand. If you cannot get the money then you die and so does your baby. I suppose if the hospitals help one impoverished person with free health care then what will they do with the next 500, 1,000, or 10,000. You get the idea.

God, help me to be thankful for what I have. God, help me to live a more selfless life so that others can have a little more of the things they need. God, help me live a loving life in front of my children. God, help me to make a difference in this world. God, save our country from our self-centered narrow-minded lives. God, feed the hungry tonight. God, provide for the sick and the dying. Amen.