Why I Am Grateful: Reflections on Others' Suffering, My Fortune

This week I learned something. I learned that I am very fortunate. I learned that I have not known great sacrifice yet. I learned that no matter how destitute or unfortunate I feel there is ALWAYS someone more destitute than me. I learned to be grateful.

A family in Ireland now grieves after their little three year-old daughter died of severe burns she received while innocently standing by the fireplace. The hem of her dress had caught on a tea light and by the time she was carried to the hospital the burns were very severe. After a month of struggling she died. I have never known the kind of pain that family must be experiencing now and I hope and pray that I never will, God those who have.

This week in Pakistan a father is in agony, grieving because he must sell his own baby daughter to get money to feed the rest of his family. There was no other way, all would have starved. Does that child know the sacrifice she must make for her own siblings to live? Do you know the pain it must cause her torn father to do such? I count myself blessed for I have never been forced to make such a decision or sacrifice. I commend that father for his bravery.

This week I learned from someone else that a young boy in Iraq- twelve years old- has lost most of his family to a bomb that destroyed his depressing but only home. He has vowed to take care of the siblings he has left as his parents would have taken care of him.

He will most likely not go to school again. He and his remaining siblings will most likely go hungry most of the day and as many others have, they will very likely meet the same fate as their parents. To many it is better to die than to keep on living in a place like that. No hope is what the people have, no hope. To have no hope is the worst thing that can befall an individual seeking a way in life. To have no hope is to be truly destitute.

I am fortunate because I have much to be grateful for. I am grateful because my life is before me and I look forward to it. I am thankful because I have hope.

I will pray for those who are less privileged than myself and count my self blessed for the privileges I have.