1 Thess 5:18 ‘in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’
I visited the Ti-Ratana Welfare Home in Kuala Lumpur with some of my classmates last Friday. It was the final part of a charity drive that the Law Society at my university had organised over the past month. We were to hand over the money collected through our volunteer work, as well as give gifts to the home. We spent time with old folks and orphans: talking, singing, playing with them and helping the kids with homework. It was not my first time at a home, but it had been a while since I went to one and it an enlightening experience nonetheless.
The home has 150 kids and they are cramped into the most Spartan of surroundings. They live on the bare essentials of life. They share rooms, toilets, clothes, toys, books, food, utilities, everything. They sleep in dorms with hard beds and with a lot of other kids. Their clothes are donated, not ironed, and labelled with names. Look at what you’re wearing now, where you stay. Chances are, it’s far better than anything those kids have.
They have about one adult to 35 kids. Can you just imagine how hard it is to get someone to listen to you, let alone demand that they meet your needs? The high school kids there get RM2 a day for pocket money. They don’t get to play computer games or go to the mamak as and when they like. They rely on donations from the public for everything. Some have gone through abuse by family members, and many show the scars, both on their bodies and in their hearts. On almost every aspect, I have it so much better. Chances are, you do too.
In their position, it is impossible to even think of enjoying the things we enjoy everyday. Things like freedom, mobility, choice, variety, love and attention from our families and friends, a good education, a good home, having our needs met, even getting to choose what we want to eat for lunch or what to wear. We take so many of these gifts from God for granted.
I visited the Ti-Ratana Welfare Home in Kuala Lumpur with some of my classmates last Friday. It was the final part of a charity drive that the Law Society at my university had organised over the past month. We were to hand over the money collected through our volunteer work, as well as give gifts to the home. We spent time with old folks and orphans: talking, singing, playing with them and helping the kids with homework. It was not my first time at a home, but it had been a while since I went to one and it an enlightening experience nonetheless.
The home has 150 kids and they are cramped into the most Spartan of surroundings. They live on the bare essentials of life. They share rooms, toilets, clothes, toys, books, food, utilities, everything. They sleep in dorms with hard beds and with a lot of other kids. Their clothes are donated, not ironed, and labelled with names. Look at what you’re wearing now, where you stay. Chances are, it’s far better than anything those kids have.
They have about one adult to 35 kids. Can you just imagine how hard it is to get someone to listen to you, let alone demand that they meet your needs? The high school kids there get RM2 a day for pocket money. They don’t get to play computer games or go to the mamak as and when they like. They rely on donations from the public for everything. Some have gone through abuse by family members, and many show the scars, both on their bodies and in their hearts. On almost every aspect, I have it so much better. Chances are, you do too.
In their position, it is impossible to even think of enjoying the things we enjoy everyday. Things like freedom, mobility, choice, variety, love and attention from our families and friends, a good education, a good home, having our needs met, even getting to choose what we want to eat for lunch or what to wear. We take so many of these gifts from God for granted.
The visit reminded me of how lucky I was, how fortunate, how blessed by God. When I looked around the church building that evening, I saw how God had indeed blessed all of us so well, both materially and spiritually. The trip also reminded me of how I should, as a Christian, be less demanding and more appreciative of God’s providence. Sometimes, in fact a lot of times, we not only forget how blessed we are, but insist that God grants us the things we want; our whims and fancies. We don’t realise that what we have is already beyond what others can even phantom enjoying.
Look at your life. Look all the little things in life you enjoy daily, and give thanks to God that you can enjoy them, because so many people don’t. The song’s line rings so true, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Stop being too demanding and start being thankful.
Col 3:17 ‘And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.’
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