"Penniless, a while without food, I can live. But it breaks my heart to know I cannot give."
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The mother who sleeps on cardboard but refused a mattress lives in a typical home in a village like this. And yet, she gave from even the little she had. |
Can you relate to this quote from a 17th century Japanese poet? We met a widowed mother in Qena who sure can. She was sleeping on a few flattened cardboard boxes on the concrete floor of her home. Her Coptic Orphans volunteer representative promised to get her a proper mattress as soon as possible.
He was stunned when she answered, "A mattress? No, no. I have enough. Give it to someone who needs it more."
Why? She knows that the moment she gives in to feeling that she doesn’t have anything to give is the moment she gives up on life.
To be honest, we’ve heard from a number of sponsors who fear they may not be able to continue to meet their commitments to their children in Egypt due to today’s tough economic circumstances.
Take Irene, from the U.S. She lost her job almost a year ago, but decided to share all that she had with God, even hosting a dinner party for friends and family so that they could have the chance to sponsor a child, too. It was only when she faced foreclosure that she finally had to make that difficult call to halt her regular contributions for children in the Not Alone Program. Fortunately, an anonymous donor stepped in to fill in the gaps until Irene was able to resume her contributions, so Irene was able to maintain her relationship with her child. She writes him and encourages him regularly.
Irene is like that mother in Qena. She always finds she has something to give.
And what about the children in Tahta? Their Coptic Orphans Rep, Ghobrial, makes it a point to build a library of books in each of the homes of the families he is responsible for in the program. Instead of hoarding these prized possessions, the children are all eagerly sharing their books with others in the community. Well, word has gotten out and now parents around Tahta are encouraging their children to make friends with the “Not Alone” children so that they can borrow books and improve their reading skills, too. Talk about a gift.
So the next time you think you have nothing left to give, think of that mother from Qena, think of Irene, and think of Ghohbrial, who all know that hope depends on giving and giving doesn't depend on what we've got. Don’t lose this precious gift of giving
