None of us live easy, let alone perfect lives. We however enjoy many blessings that are not an option for a lot of people around the world. It is often easy to look at the real challenges we face and think that we are not lucky or indeed receiving any blessings during times of temporary trouble. I recently enjoyed a visit to South Africa and Zimbabwe with my family. Prior to the trip, my wife and I budgeted what we could afford and complained about some of the things that we could not include in our planned trip.
Once in Africa, our day to day needs were planned out, with enough money for us to afford the things we needed and wanted. It was very humbling to see how modest the people around us lived their daily lives. It was also embarrassing to look back at our previous complaints prior to leaving New Zealand. What had been ‘real’ concerns for us were not even a consideration once we saw just how much we had, and how much we were able to afford compared to some of the people around us. The biggest lesson was in seeing how people in Africa glowed with joy and happiness…we looked at some of them and thought they were poor and living in challenging situations. They instead were happy with the things they had around them, they appreciated every meal, looked after their few possessions and delighted in the company of friends and family. They were wealthy in ways that we had not initially observed but fortunately managed to see before we left.
Next week is the start of Lent, the period of 40 days before Easter. We will have pancakes for all the students on Shrove Tuesday 25th February. I look forward to seeing you at the family service on Sunday 1st March. As ever, my door will always be open if anyone needs to chat or if you have something going on that you would like some prayer for mannie.marara@trinityschools.nz .
