There's a lot going on in my little brain these days and I thought it might help to spell it out.  Help me, anyway.  :)  Be warned that I don't have the nicest or most appropriate things to say.  I apologize in advance if I offend.  It is certainly not my intention. 
We were at Breakthrough on Saturday as I mentioned in my last post.  It was a great event.  Really.  But part of it made me sad too.  Huh?  Let me explain.  

While we were eating a snack, a boy named Jeremiah came and sat with us.  We noticed him because he had a box of new Converse shoes and a basketball.  Jeremiah explained that he had finished all of the sports and received his reward -- new shoes!!!  He was also thrilled to get his *second* basketball.  Jeremiah went on to tell us that his mom dropped him off at 9 a.m. that day -- a full hour before the event started -- because he wanted to make sure to have enough time to get through all the sports and win his shoes.  And she left.

Sigh.

I don't know Jeremiah's story but I wonder if he's ever had a pair of new shoes before.  NEW.  They cost forty bucks (I had to look it up) and to him, they were GOLD.  Keith explained to him that they were "All Stars" (which was very important to Jeremiah) but also that they were signed by a big basketball star who played years ago.  Jeremiah had no idea.  Then I was struck by his circumstances.  His mom dropped him off.  For the whole day.  I asked when she would be back and he said "at 3."  Um, Jeremiah is eight years old.  Alone at a big inner city high school for six hours.  My heart sank for him.  Not because I was judging his mom; I have no idea of their circumstances.  But because of all of it.  The shoes, the basketball, the aloneness.  He's eight.

And while we are all so concerned about children in Africa, we have kids just a couple miles away from us who are effectively orphaned by their circumstances.  And we ignore them.  No, I am NOT advocating to take a child like Jeremiah away from his parents.  Of course not.  But I am asking what we are doing today, now, to help children who don't have regular parent interaction or consistent love who will grow up to be unemployed or frustrated.  What are we doing?

Then, I start to think of the kids in Uganda.  There are orphans but there are also many children living with families.  We look at them with pity and think, "They have nothing.  They live in mud huts without electricity or plumbing.  We need to fix that."  But do we?  Why are we imposing our OWN values on them?  The people of Uganda are across the board so much more joyful and fulfilled than we are.  With less.  MUCH less.  How dare we impose our "mine is bigger than yours" mentality on them.  Shame on us.  While we sit over here in our lavish homes trying to build the tallest building or the most *obnoxious* football stadium ever for a billion dollars (see Dallas), Ugandans are joyful.  Instead of rescuing or saving Ugandans from their "miserable" life I think we have a thing or two we could learn from them.

Case in point, this morning.  I ride the train to work.  Metra.  I got to my stop and they announced our train had broken down and we would have to get a different train.  And be late.  While we piled into the already full train, we rode downtown safely and efficiently.  Once we arrived at Union Station, I got off the train just in time to hear a spoiled suburban man explain to an innocent Metra worker how pissed off he was to be seventeen minutes late.  (Yes, he said 17.  Not 15 or 20, but 17).  Um, really?  He was yelling at Metra and, frankly, further delaying his arrival at what must be a very important appointment that he missed by 17 minutes.  The Metra worker simply kept saying that the train broke and what were they to do?

Sigh.  Okay, not sigh.  GRRRR.

Seriously?  Have we lost sight of what matters?  Clearly!  And I include myself in that.  Even this blog can become an idol.  How many people are following?  From where?  How often?  How can I get more "readership?"  *Bleck*  That's why I made changes to my blog recently.  My blog is not FOR that.  It's for my kiddos, my family/friends, and me.  None of the rest matters.  To God be the glory for great things HE has done.

Lord forgive me for losing sight of what matters and help me to get focused on the only thing that matters . . . You and your Son.  Bring this country and this world to its knees in submission to You alone.  Save us from ourselves.  In Jesus' name, amen.[Image]