Faces

You go on missions trips to third world countries.

You see the faces of the hungry, of the tired, of the homeless.

They haunt your dreams, they peak out of the corners of your mind in the most innocent of places.
You cry, you work, you try to do all that you can to make sure they have a bite to eat, a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on.
You dress their wounds and hold their young

You come home and feed homeless in the streets, you collect for shelters, you recruit, you send
Time passes, the edges of their faces fade into the sweetness of new memories.
The pain you felt becomes a memory something to be proud of, I loved so much it hurt
then you realize that when you say you loved
its in a past tense.
You forgot
You forgot their faces
You forgot their pain
You forgot to do all you can
A picture on your fridge of a faraway girl is a small part
but you can do far far more
May this shame turn into action
May that hurt return
when you look into far off places may it be their faces that you see

Role Models

I'm completely struck by the shows like American Idol who are grooming the next "It" people.  When you look at the people that have made it and are famous in our society it amazes me that people aspire to that.  A quick look at some of the tv shows; Girls Next Door (girls famous for posing naked and group dating an 80 some year old man), Keeping up with the Kardashians (one sister gets famous from a sex tape and the show follows her family), Paris Hiltons New BFF (another sex tape but throw in some cash from being an heiress), Rock of Love (famous rock star search for love with a bunch of crazy women).  I can't imagine wanting any of that.  

Then you think of the two people that hit the pinnacle of their careers in rock and roll, Elvis and Michael Jackson.  Both of them had so much money and were known for their excess.  They had what would seem like everything in our society.  But both were empty known for their prescription drug use.  It amazes me that people romanticize that type of lifestyle.  It just shows you that when you do get that brass ring in the entertainment industry your life isn't fulfilled.

When I was younger I wanted to be happy when I grew up.  What I soon learned in my teen years was that I didn't equate happiness with money.  I equated money with bigger houses (more cleaning), fake friends, scam artists, etc.  Happiness seemed to be connected with how much you give of yourself to others.  Happily this early lesson has never proved wrong and even though I struggle sometimes with wanting bigger and better; mostly I'm extremely happy with what I've been blessed with. Sometimes it just takes a pause to realize that my life is very good and I have so much that I have enough to give as well.

Happy 4th of July!!