It’s been raining here pretty much non-stop for the last three or four days. And truth be told, it’s felt like rainy days around our house lately – in more ways than one. For whatever reason, I can’t seem to get Africa off of my mind.
Tonight during supper David asked me if I’d seen a letter we received from Compassion about the Global Food Crisis, and since I hadn’t, I grabbed it off of the kitchen counter and started to read. The letter was from Wess Stafford, the founder of Compassion, and he outlined how the rising cost of food is “creating a life-threatening food crisis” in the area where our sponsored child Sharon lives.
Rainy days.
Saturday, while I was in San Antonio, D. noticed that there was a leak in the roof of our front porch. He tried to find the source of the leak but couldn’t, and by yesterday morning, as the water continued to pour from a seam in the porch ceiling, he decided to call the professionals. A man came over a few hours later, walked around the roof, hammered a little here, added a little sealant there, and within fifteen minutes the leak was fixed.
Easy breezy.
But today, as the rain has continued to fall, I’ve thought about the places we visited in Uganda. I’ve thought about how families there would struggle to fix a roof in need of repair. I’ve thought about children trying to sleep in airless rooms, about mothers who desperately want to provide food for their kids but don’t have the means to pay for it.
Rainy days.
Yesterday afternoon, as the rain poured down, our little guy hopped in the car after school. We hadn’t even made it past the school building when he piped up from the back seat: “You know what, Mama? Rainy days are my favorites.”
“Really?” I asked. “Why do you like rainy days so much?”
“Well, because that’s when God makes things grow!”
I thought about what he said for a few minutes, pondered on the metaphor he never intended, and decided that even though the little man had no idea, he’d provided his mama with a pretty solid dose of theology on a rainy summer afternoon.
I guess, in one way or another, it must be growing season.
Many of y’all have sponsored kids through Compassion in the last year, so you’re probably already aware of the Global Food Crisis. Anne actually posted about it a couple of days ago on her blog, asked her readers to donate to Compassion’s Global Food Crisis Fund, and they responded oh-so-generously. I’d love it if some of us here would follow suit.
David and I talked at supper tonight and decided that we’re going to make a donation. We can’t donate very much right now (see: roof and also: cracked fireplace), but we can donate something. A one-time donation of $39 will feed one family for one month, but you can donate any amount. $2. $5. $50. Every little bit will provide some relief to families who need it. Just click here to help.
You don’t have to tell me if you donate (though you’re welcome to do so), and you certainly don’t have to tell me how much. I’m really not concerned with a grand total. I’m just interested in helping these families.
Because there are some times in life when we can’t do a dadgum thing to stop the rain.
But other times? Like right now, for instance?
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