it's the little things

you know, i never give much thought to the things we have, that we use every day without thought, until i don't have it to use. our street has been having trouble with our water pipes- bursting and such. so we spent Christmas day without running water. our neighbors had their yard dug up and part of their driveway, too. thanks to the men who worked on Christmas, we had water again by 1am Saturday morning.

we were driving home from our friends' house down the street tonight and noticed the all-too-familiar site of a heavy flow of silt-laden water running down the street and realized another section of the pipes have busted. so now, at 12am Sunday morning, we are without running water again. (and we are so glad to be heading to kingsport for a few days...)

all of that back story to say... you never think about the simple things we do every day that require water: washing your hands, flushing the toilet, taking a shower, filling up your pets' water bowl, making coffee or tea, doing a quick load of laundry, running the dishwasher... almost everything we do day in and day out requires water. what would we do without it?

we never seem to think about how blessed we are until we are without. you can show me countless commercials about third world countries, well, i've seen enough poverty in person to know about it. but i don't really think about it. my friend jen gash is in uganda right now, showering orphans and other children with beds and mosquito nets. beds. a mosquito net costs $8- it's not only to prevent itchy bug bites. it prevents malaria and death. $8. two cups of starbucks you-name-it lattes. we are blessed to live where we live.

so, as it is come back to my attention, i would like to bring it back to yours. find a cause in this coming new year (and decade). it can be local or global. (it might even involve clean water, which i learned about here, on jess's blog. i don't know jess personally, but having been following her story, and praying, for almost the last year, i feel like i do. and if you venture over there, grab some kleenex before reading cora's story.) it can cost a lot or very little. set a little aside every week or paycheck. but find a way to give back.

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

it isn't always easy to give. i make excuses not to do so all the time. but next time i want some starbucks, i'll make myself a cup of coffee or tea at home and set aside $4 for someone else instead.

that's my goal in this new year. well, besides losing 10 more pounds. but that's another blog post for another day.