I know I've shared this before, but it touches me every time I read it:
"So much in my life I take for granted. Rarely do I fear for my safety. I have never known hunger or thirst. Not many signs restrict my movements. I can read and write. Why was I given so much?"
I try not to take things for granted and often express gratitude, but when I read the next sentence: "Rarely do I fear for my safety," I realized that there are so many aspects of my life that I never think about, and therefore definitely take for granted. I do fear for my safety, but only when it's icy outside and I have to gingerly make my way to the car. Or when I climb up and down the stairs in my hiking boots. I fell down the stairs ten years ago while wearing my rain boots. They were a size larger than what I usually wear, and my heel caught on the stairs, sending me flying down the last six steps - and fracturing my elbow. But these examples are small potatoes compared to our servicepeople overseas who face danger on a daily basis. Or the people in war-torn countries who fear for not only their "safety" but their very lives!
"I have never known hunger or thirst." I remember as a kid complaining to Mom, "I'm starving!" I imagine this picture of me as a baby bird with its mouth wide open - as if it hadn't been fed in days!
"Not many signs restrict my movements." I think of the many people right in our own country (let alone the oppressive countries of today) who have seen signs like: "Irish need not apply" or "Public Swimming Pool. White Only."
"I can read and write." I think back to the many times I hoped for a "snow holiday" when I was in school. And there are girls who, even today, are not allowed to go to school just because of their gender. How I took my education for granted!
"Why (indeed!) was I given so much?!"
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