Child Sponsorship

James brought the mail inside on Tuesday.  He started to go through it, and he brought an envelope to me.  He seemed excited, but I wasn't sure what the reason was.  We got a newsletter and a smaller envelope in the mail from Compassion International.  In the smaller envelope was a new photo of our sponsored child.  We were thrilled to see how much he's grown in the last six months.  After looking at his photo for a moment, I started to cry.  That morning, I had cleaned out our bedroom closet and taken three very large bags of clothes to Goodwill.  Clothes that we had not worn in at least a year or two.  Clothes that we will not miss.  Clothes that we did not need.  In the photo, I noticed that Tariku was wearing an old pair of shoes with no shoelaces.  Have you ever tried walking around in a pair of lace-up shoes without shoelaces?  It doesn't work too well.  The shoes are loose, they rub your feet too much, and they leave blisters.  The benefits of our sponsorship were evident in the photo.  He looks healthier in the new photo.  This may sound silly, but I'm praying today that he will have shoelaces.

Americans take so much for granted.  It's so easy to get wrapped up in commercialism. We think we "need" the newest smart phone, the biggest TV, the most comfortable car, updated homes.  Expand your world, and make a connection with a child that doesn't have a pair of shoelaces and you will see that none of those things are needs.  What has my sponsored child taught me?  He's taught me to be thankful for my shoelaces.