I thought I “needed” a new pair of shoes, until I met someone who had no shoes.
I complained about my house not having enough bathrooms to accommodate all my children and grandchildren when they visit, until I met a family that had no bathrooms.
I stood with my closet door open, frustrated that I could not make up my mind what to wear; then I thought of a man who only owned one shirt, one pair of pants and one pair of shoes.
The electricity went off for thirty minutes and I began to gripe, until I remembered a darkened house that had no electricity.
I complained about the cost of gasoline; but then I thought about people who have to walk everywhere they go.
I felt like turning up my nose at my meal because it was the second time in two weeks we’d had the same thing, and then I remembered the multitudes who only eat two meals a day and one of those will be a tortilla with nothing in it.
I didn’t “feel like” going to church today, until I thought about a woman who walks two hours one way to church and carries her baby all the way.
My heart had no words of thanksgiving to God for the life I have; but yet the poorest of the poor in Honduras had hearts and mouths overflowing with words of thanksgiving to God for the blessings they have in life.
Dear God in heaven, help me to get over myself. Forgive me for being petty and self-centered. Create in me a new heart, one that is thankful for each day, no matter what it may bring. Help me not to forget what the people in Honduras taught me. Amen.
Stories With Heart 