Reality Check

I've got friends who are serving as missionaries in Africa right now - Zambia to be exact. As we all do, I get caught up in my work (photography, photo contests, mail sorting, birthday celebrations, church activiites . . . the activities vary, but the busy-ness doesn't.) David and Linda's blog post reminded me of some things that are more important, lives that are much more difficult, but no less special and blessed than mine.

Even the poorest people in America have more "luxury" than the people in the bush. And yet, we are never satisfied. We ferry our children to school or they ride a bus, Linda has students who have eagerly walked all night to get to the boarding school.

I overheard some teachers talking at Schlotzsky's while I was uploading my photos. They were talking about how hard it was to get parents to come to parent teacher conferences. Single parents, working long hours, no time for conferences much less volunteering in the classroom. But so many children in Africa have no parents - and yet they have good attitudes and hope that seems beyond my comprehension in such difficult circumstances.

There is much right in America . . . and much that needs work.

What do they know that we don't? How can we foster these positive attitudes in the face of adversity in the upcoming generations? This post about one of their friend's experiences working in Africa was a good reality check for me today.