The other day I was cutting up some melon for Jude and I remembered one of my trips to Nepal where we were working with a small orphanage. Our team had the opportunity to have a party for the kids after teaching them English for a few weeks and wanted to bless them with some kind of treat. Our American minds dreamed up some yummy things and ran them by our host who was an American living in Nepal and had adopted a beautiful Nepali girl with his wife. He told us the ideas were fine but what would really be special to the kids was a bunch of different kinds of fresh cut up fruit. (A limited orphanage budget only allowed for small amounts of fresh fruits.) That seemed so simple and not special enough to us Westerners, who were so use to an overabundance of sugary sweets. There are particular scenes that stick out in my mind from my travels around the globe and shape my life today. This is one of them, leaving me with a few questions to check the attitude of my life and the condition of my heart.

Am I thankful for what I have, or do I always think of the next thing to buy? Do I constantly need the ‘bigger and better’ or am I content with what I have, the gifts I can afford to give, the meals I can prepare for our family, etc.? Am I living simply so that I can give generously? Do I find joy in the simple things and teach my children to be content with what we have by example, limited amounts of TV and thus advertising, and involving them in giving generously to others who have need?