When romanticizing leads to compassion…

From Williams-Sonoma Home

Snuggled under layers of covers this morning, I smiled through shuttered, sand-filled eyes, awakened to a soggy Morse code of “good morning”.   I’m a rain lover, and though I can’t explain it, it infuses a certain “soul peace”; at times I crave it, and to me, it is at it’s best when it arrives at daybreak.  I said, “Thank you, Lord” as if He had specifically gifted me, and I smiled to think my husband would think this a curse.

Sleep-blurred thoughts suddenly filled with an awareness that took me by surprise:  my romanticism of rain is a luxury.

A tweet from Shaun Groves came to mind; he linked to an article that detailed the destruction–the deaths–caused by Hurricane Ida in El Salvador.  He wondered how that would affect the Compassion Bloggers’ trip there this week…and how it might have affected Compassion’s ministry…and because I know him, I’m sure his biggest concern was if any children were hurt…or worse.

Rain to people living in poverty doubtfully produces the “soul peace” that compels me to wax poetic at six in the morning.

Thankfully, after a quick check of Shaun’s Twitter stream, I learned the hurricane wasn’t affecting their trip (so far), and no Compassion-sponsored children had been hurt.

As I prayed for Shaun, the team of bloggers, and those giving and receiving through Compassion’s work in El Salvador, my heart raced back to India, to my own experience there.

I will never forget the depth and reach of the poverty I saw…

An urban slum in Calcutta, photographed during my trip with Compassion International.

And yet the hope seen in faces of children in every Compassion project we visited.

The children worked on crafts to sell, made out of recycled materials.

Their joy for life never ceased; they welcomed us with open arms, enjoying the simplest of pleasures.

I’ve given up some things I’ll never miss in order to sponsor two children through Compassion International; my daughter uses baby sitting money to sponsor her own little girl in Guatemala.

PLEASE–read the stories of the bloggers who saw first hand last week how Compassion is able to “release children from poverty in the name of Jesus.”  It’s with confidence I know in advance, their testimonies will be compelling and moving and at times, heart wrenching.

Because lives are being touched for eternity’s sake and for the advance of the Gospel.

Are you feeling a gentle nudging?  Might you at least consider sponsoring a child?

I’d love to hear your questions, your experiences, your own stories related to Compassion International.  Get chatty in comments, k?

{And thanks to Blissfully Domestic’s founder, Allison Worthington, for her support of Compassion International by donating a percentage of sales from “The Smart Girl’s Guide to Twitter”.}