Sometimes Life is Like Eating an Elephant.

You know that slap in the face I mentioned poverty sometimes does to me? Yeah. I had one of those this week as I visited my future in-laws for a few days.

I came to our home village for a quick visit to get some things done, only to find so many girls I've known for years now, pregnant with men who had already abandoned them. (these are 15-19 year old girls). I found the number of kids I usually see in uniform walking to school dwindling. They are too busy doing hard labor at 14 years old to go to school. I found myself rushing my sweet Farmer's mother to the doctors for chronic pain all over her body, to discover her pain was simply because she had swung a hoe and a shovel for so long it had destroyed the nerves and muscles in her body. (A destiny my sweet kiddos who have recently stopped going to school are headed for.) Again these aren't people I have recently met, or distantly know, these are kids and people I've known for almost four years, lived and worked alongside. I love them.

Some weeks I feel utterly defeated by poverty. This week is one of those. My heart was thrown into despair by all these realities I cannot fix. A distant memory kept coming to my mind as I tried to grapple my two very different worlds, how they both exist and my role in them...My mom was sick with a rare and terminal cancer, (She lived! Don't sweat it, another story for another time) my PawPaw (her dad) used to tell her in that comforting southern drawl of his as she would sit and endure chemo therapy;

  "Sometimes things we face in this life is like eating an elephant, and you can only take one bite at a time."

Those words were so comforting as I talked to My Farmer about how to effectively help. I can only take one bite, one step at a time that The Father lays before me. Leaving the rest to Him. He is the great healer.

So...I did what I could do. Bought my mother in law medicine. Bought my future family some food (they had been eating chili's and rice only). I had some intimate talks with my kiddos about school, the future and what they wanted. I told those girls that they are more than somebody to sleep with, but have sharp minds and courageous hearts. I made them laugh. I cooked with them. Listened to their troubles. I told them I loved them. They told me they loved me too. And in the end, that is all I could do. And what I am here for...to be in relationship.

So this issue of poverty is a companion I'm learning to live with, and sometimes it's like an elephant. But with the power of my Dad above, the steady strong hands of my Farmer, some dirt, seeds and a whole lot of love...maybe we can eat it. One bite at a time.

Thanks for the wise words Paw Paw....I miss you everyday across the world ;)