I have secretly always wanted to sponsor a child. I felt like I was never naive to the fact that the opportunities that we have in this country are unlike so many other countries. Things like having water at our disposal anytime we need it would be like winning the lottery to some people. I don't know why it has taken me so long to do this....but then again I know exactly why. It is easy to put off because I was always waiting to make MORE money in order to give. What I am making is never enough. But like they say "the more you make, the more you spend" and "more money, more problems" - I believe this to be true. I was in a relationship with someone for a few years that had no respect for money and always looking outside himself to make himself happy. I realize that I was just as guilty of this and became even worse when I let his self destructive ways be a catalyst to my own. I buried myself in credit card debt a couple of times...I could never save a dollar without it burning a hole in my pocket and I also thought that "thing" I so desperately wanted would make me happy. It was a temporary high just like any other "fix" that people can get addicted to.
I have changed my perspective and finally began to fully poke my head out of that destructive hole I was in for so long. In the church service I was in these past few weeks, they have been doing a series called "Ten-Ten-Eighty" It is all about finances. Giving 10% of what you make back (or tithing), 10% to yourself and living off 80% of what you make. I heard this quote by Martin Luther King Jr about a month ago- "It is always the right time to do the right thing" and that has stuck in my head since I heard it. Especially in this past weeks service when that is exactly what they were talking about. Seizing the opportunity and take advantage of what we are given. So many of us keep waiting for something to happen before we do what we know is right. No time like now!
Here is my girl!!! Isn't she the cutest!? Her name is Flavia and she lives in Uganda. I couldn't bear to decide who to pick so you can do a search on Compassion International for gender, country,...all different things. I searched for a girl with my birth date and she was the one! She is 7 years old, and lives with her mother and a few other siblings. Her father died but it doesn't say when or how. Her household duties are washing clothes and carrying water. Her hobbies are playing with dolls, jump rope and story telling. Her mom is a peasant farmer and makes around $12 a month.
I get my packet in about 2 weeks and I can start writing to her and we can be the best of pen pals! I have to say I am super excited! I give $38 a month to sponsor her and I can already tell, it is the best money I have ever spent! I hope my money helps her continue in school and discover how many opportunities there are for her. I get a little teary eyed thinking of what this young girl has dealt with already in her short life. Not even knowing too much, I DO know she has lost her father and they live off of $12 a month for a family of 5. I hope I get to meet her one day and as a side note- this girl is going to have some sweet jewelry! She will definitely be voted best accessorized in her area of Kigumba!
I have to say, it feels amazing and that $38 a month is just as much of a gift to me as it is to her. The satisfaction knowing I am making a difference, feels 100 times better then spending that money at.....the bar.
It is so easy to be selfish. It is so easy to get stuck in our own little world and be fooled again and again by what we think will make us happy. I think happiness lies in balance. Give and take. We live in a world with a lot of takers. I am willing to bet the givers know happiness while the takers stay lost.
This quote from this past Sunday's service sums it up for me-
"To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away"
Lovey, Jen
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