Be Thankful

When living in South Africa, you see and hear about poverty every day. I see people lying in rows on the paving infront of shops, trying to keep warm under cardboard. I see young children begging at almost every set of lights. I see people in wheel chairs on the side of the road, trying to sell some home-made fudge just to make ends meet. I see young boys walking past our house every week trying to sell handmade grass brooms. I hear how our gardeners tin shack got destroyed, and everything was stolen. I hear from my maid that all her cows have been stolen, and that her family has kicked her out of her home, and how many of her relatives are dying or have died from Aids. I hear of child abuse, and murder every day on the news. Every Monday, (bin day) I see many, many people, old and young digging through my rubbish bin, and eating scraps of food that I have thrown away. Its hard not to become negative. But on the other hand, it becomes easy to be thankful! Thankful that I have a house to live in, a warm bed to sleep in, food on the table, we can read freely from God's word, and go to church on Sundays, in a car! That the children in our church can also attend good Reformed schools. Thankful that I have a healthy little boy, a caring husband. Thankful that my parents could afford to send me to school. Thankful that we can afford private health care so that we dont have to go to a public hospital in the city and wait for hours, sometimes days just to see a doctor...and the list goes on. So many things to be thankful for.

Are you thankful?