Giving Back

The other night, American Idol did their annual, "Idol Gives Back" episode, in which they covered the stories of numerous people and families in need of aid. There were impoverished families in America, whose children were suffering academically, in addition to tough living conditions. There were people dying of malaria & AIDS in Africa. The story that hit me the hardest was one of these African women, who was 24 and pregnant with her first child. She contracted malaria and unfortunately, got to the hospital too late. Her husband was left to bury his beloved wife, and unborn 1st child. There are stories like this all over the world, and even here in America there are tragedies that happen each day.

Watching this prompted me to be a bit saddened at first, because while the stories were compelling, the show was promoting and begging for donations for organizations that provide or fund contraception and abortions where they are supposedly helping. While I couldn't give financially to those organizations, I pondered what I could do.

First and foremost, thank the Lord. Thank Him daily, hourly, by the minute for the immense blessings in our lives. Recently, I've had a lot of prayers answered differently than I hoped. Nothing major, just little things in daily life that have been inconveniences more than anything. They've been opportunities for self-sacrifice and detachment. I've found that when I am uniform with these things, and accept the challenges as they come, I am more grateful for the little blessings, like a mailbox outside of a store I need to go in, saving me one more stop on my route of errands. We have so much to be grateful for. So what can we do to help those suffering more than us around the world? An attitude of gratitude goes along way. This can greatly impact everyone we encounter, and beyond that, giving to those good Catholic charities, or even just directly to the Missionaries of Charity, or other solid orders, where you know your funds are going to help those who are the hands and feet of our Lord. Lastly, of course, the Eucharist, is the height of thanksgiving.

Also, something I'm going to try to do on a daily basis, is write in my prayer journal, 3 things I'm grateful for each day. Such a small thing, but it's a great reminder to be thankful. I've also heard of Catholic families that have a tradition of everyone in the household sharing one thing they are grateful for from their day while at the family meal. Even if you aren't able to have a family dinner each night, hopefully you have at least one family meal each day, even if it's just you and your spouse, to start this tradition. I'm hoping to start it in our home, and what good, positive conversation might it bring to our family meals!

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