Last summer, I received notes from many of the kids at Adacar CarePoint asking for mattresses. They sleep on the ground in their mud huts, sometimes on a thin, woven mat. I look at my own mattress right now and realize that it’s so thick, they could probably make four mattresses out of this one uber-princess-and-the-pea mattress.
I left Adacar with fistfuls of notes from kids asking politely for mattresses, but with so many kids left to sponsor and the many projects already on our plate, I didn’t see how mattresses were going to happen any time soon.
Then the rains came tumblin’ down.
In the fall, I started to see photos of drowning crops and ponds where roads once lay. Adacar and nearby Ngariam CarePoint experienced devastating floods which destroyed gardens, compromised the new pit latrines, and increased the risk of water-borne disease. I could almost hear the malarial mosquitos breeding.
And yet. Through a flood relief campaign, we were able to raise enough funds for each child at both CarePoints to receive a treated mosquito net…and a mattress.
Through disaster, they got their mattresses. And I know these kids. They didn’t gripe about the flooding. They didn’t gripe about the crop loss. They praised God for the mattresses. They saw His provision in the flood. Rather than cursing the loss, they praised Him for the gain.
What are the mattresses in my life? What are the things that I want and need God to provide for my comfort and wellbeing?
Do I curse God for the flood or praise Him for the mattress? Do I rail against Him for the losses in my life or praise Him for the gains, for His provision and care?
It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?
