Yesterday, I was sitting in the adoration chapel as I do every Sunday. As I seem to be a creature of habit, I pulled out my rosary, my novena booklet to Mary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy (the full prayer) and a small book that I've been reading for the last few weeks, and put them all aside. When I arrive in there, on Sundays, I just sit in the peace of the chapel and let it envelope me like a warm, receptive, blanket that eases the tensions and uplifts the soul. It is during this time, which can be anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes, I think of the people that I have promised to pray for, those that need prayer, my friends, my fellow adorers and my family. I think of my own needs too and then I get to the business of praying for all.
Yesterday, though, I found myself unable to ask God for anything for myself. The only thing I could say, and I said it out loud as I was alone in the chapel, was,
"I want for nothing."
That's right. He has already given me everything I could possibly need. With more surety, and clarity, I repeated it, and then I got down on my knees and thanked Him for every single blessing He has bestowed on me; both those that I know and those that I don't know.
Recently, I got into a discussion with someone on LinkedIn about the march for women that happened in January in the United States. The one that started the thread asked what we thought was lacking as far as women are concerned. The majority of women posted what they felt was an important issue, with most saying equal pay or health care. Being the rabble rouser that I am, instead, I posted that I thought women had it "pretty darned good" in this country. We do. A few people didn't agree with me. That's okay; they are entitled to their opinion. My opinion? They need to learn about the rest of the world out there.
1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity.
663 million people do not have access to clean water
2.4 billion people do not have access to basic toilets
7.2 billion people do not have access to basic medical care
1 billion people live with a daily income of $1.25 or less
2.2 billion live on a daily income of $2.00 or less.
33 million people, worldwide, are uprooted from their homes of which 12 million are asylum seekers and 21 million internally displaced people ( living in tents in their own countries)
200 million girls and women alive today have been mutilated
700 million women, alive today, were married under the age of 18; 250 million of those women were married before the age of 15
510 million women are illiterate, worldwide
81 years old ~ the life expectancy of a woman in the United States.
44 years old ~ the life expectancy of a woman in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
If people open their eyes and learn about what the world is like to millions of people maybe they will see that yeah, we do have it pretty darned good. The poorest people in this country would be considered wealthy in many areas of the world.
Count your blessings.
*Statistics are from the W.H.O., the U.N. and SOS USA.
Yesterday, though, I found myself unable to ask God for anything for myself. The only thing I could say, and I said it out loud as I was alone in the chapel, was,
"I want for nothing."
That's right. He has already given me everything I could possibly need. With more surety, and clarity, I repeated it, and then I got down on my knees and thanked Him for every single blessing He has bestowed on me; both those that I know and those that I don't know.
Recently, I got into a discussion with someone on LinkedIn about the march for women that happened in January in the United States. The one that started the thread asked what we thought was lacking as far as women are concerned. The majority of women posted what they felt was an important issue, with most saying equal pay or health care. Being the rabble rouser that I am, instead, I posted that I thought women had it "pretty darned good" in this country. We do. A few people didn't agree with me. That's okay; they are entitled to their opinion. My opinion? They need to learn about the rest of the world out there.
1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity.
663 million people do not have access to clean water
2.4 billion people do not have access to basic toilets
7.2 billion people do not have access to basic medical care
1 billion people live with a daily income of $1.25 or less
2.2 billion live on a daily income of $2.00 or less.
33 million people, worldwide, are uprooted from their homes of which 12 million are asylum seekers and 21 million internally displaced people ( living in tents in their own countries)
200 million girls and women alive today have been mutilated
700 million women, alive today, were married under the age of 18; 250 million of those women were married before the age of 15
510 million women are illiterate, worldwide
81 years old ~ the life expectancy of a woman in the United States.
44 years old ~ the life expectancy of a woman in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
If people open their eyes and learn about what the world is like to millions of people maybe they will see that yeah, we do have it pretty darned good. The poorest people in this country would be considered wealthy in many areas of the world.
Count your blessings.
*Statistics are from the W.H.O., the U.N. and SOS USA.
No comments:
Post a Comment