Some time ago, and it´s incredible how fast time passes by, we were getting our things ready to come back to this country of Guatemala, that has been like our real back home, the resting place, the nourishing, and rehabilitating, place for our broken hopes of seeing a better world for everyone around.
We were getting back from our birthplace country, after six years of experiencing, as if they were our own, the hardships and pain that young children suffer when abused and abandoned, and on top of that, subjected to what well intentioned people, but with different perspective and culture, think it is the best for them.
It was a hard earned and assimilated lesson, seeing that the most we were able to do was to offer to these children a short period of love received, care given, and real concern for their well being.
Sometimes I wonder if we do not do more harm by temporary allowing these disadvantaged children to taste something good, or better than what already they have gone through, when changes of perspectives, influenced by other culture and environment sets of belief about what we want to give, as a gift of charity or compassion, dominate the scene, and make things change, even if not for the better.
And I keep on wondering if these children will not become more hardened with those glassy eyes, that I see so often when I ride the buses of our hardship filled, and bloated with despair, lower classes.
One thing for sure permeates the awareness and judgment of even the best intentioned people, Christians included. It is seeing things from our personal perspectives, instead of placing ourselves in the mind and the emotions of the people we want to help, so our efforts become imbedded in their spirit, so they can change, really change for the better in their lives.
It is easy to give out of what abounds, especially if we ask others to do the giving so we can appear as the great people of mercy. It is a laudable position, that of being intermediaries in the transfer of generosity and compassion, no doubt about it.
But what is really required is our full and comprehensive commitment to taking our efforts to the end, not for a while, avoiding setting up rules and parameters that are only meaningful to us.
Undoubtedly there will be children, and even adults, who will analyze us and find the way to please us, purposely, so they can benefit, as much as they can, from what we have to offer.
But even if we only change one soul, one person, one child, one abused, one abandoned, and set him or her on the right track of life, lived as it should be lived, all spent efforts will be worthy to have been done.
But in order to make possible for them to be a positive, and committed, individual, the chain of support must be consistent and be carried with the same purposeful will by all those who become part of the process.
It is necessary that the highest level of spiritual commitment is carried all through without personal interest or conveniences. It is well known that any chain is as strong as its weakest link, and if a subsequent link is added to the strong initial ones, or if the motivation is influenced by personal likings or disliking, then, the responsible one for debilitating, or modifying, the effort, will see unnecessary failures coming into the pictures, no matter what the amount of justifications are invoked for self-appeasement.
It is then when we should pray for divine guidance, because it could be easy to disrupt the already healing process, sending it back to worse than before circumstances.
It can be argued that this is an inevitable fact of life, but the Lord knows what it really went on and what responsibility everyone involved will carry upon their shoulders.
The ones who did well can rest assured that the consequences will be like an unstoppable avalanche of life changing actions. The ones who did not do so, someday, sooner or later will have to face the consequences of their actions and decisions.
Fortunately, everyone of us, besides of our share of successes or losing, in the course of our life find solace in our inner thoughts, relax at the sight of the beautiful flowers that bloom even in the midst of the deepest piles of waste, and get comforted by the assurance and stability, instilled into our weaknesses, doubts and misfortunes, brought by those special friends, like Ivonne and Richard, among the ones who have a special place in our hearts.
Ivonne has already gone to rest in the loving arms of our Creator, but she left a legacy of rightfulness, generosity, loving acceptance of our weaknesses, encouraging appreciation of our best characteristics, that makes her become a living presence all the while we keep on walking until we also reach our final departure date.
To both of them, she, Ivonne, and he, Richard, I want to dedicate the following thoughts and videos, in humble recognition of their being the strongest links in every chain of life events they became part, and we were lucky to be one of them, from time to time.
To them, because so fittingly relate to them, those verses from Isaiah 52:7. “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who announce peace and bring good news of happiness”.
The good news that there are friends like them, who bring peace and happiness to all who were fortunate to share their friendship!
We were getting back from our birthplace country, after six years of experiencing, as if they were our own, the hardships and pain that young children suffer when abused and abandoned, and on top of that, subjected to what well intentioned people, but with different perspective and culture, think it is the best for them.
It was a hard earned and assimilated lesson, seeing that the most we were able to do was to offer to these children a short period of love received, care given, and real concern for their well being.
Sometimes I wonder if we do not do more harm by temporary allowing these disadvantaged children to taste something good, or better than what already they have gone through, when changes of perspectives, influenced by other culture and environment sets of belief about what we want to give, as a gift of charity or compassion, dominate the scene, and make things change, even if not for the better.
And I keep on wondering if these children will not become more hardened with those glassy eyes, that I see so often when I ride the buses of our hardship filled, and bloated with despair, lower classes.
One thing for sure permeates the awareness and judgment of even the best intentioned people, Christians included. It is seeing things from our personal perspectives, instead of placing ourselves in the mind and the emotions of the people we want to help, so our efforts become imbedded in their spirit, so they can change, really change for the better in their lives.
It is easy to give out of what abounds, especially if we ask others to do the giving so we can appear as the great people of mercy. It is a laudable position, that of being intermediaries in the transfer of generosity and compassion, no doubt about it.
But what is really required is our full and comprehensive commitment to taking our efforts to the end, not for a while, avoiding setting up rules and parameters that are only meaningful to us.
Undoubtedly there will be children, and even adults, who will analyze us and find the way to please us, purposely, so they can benefit, as much as they can, from what we have to offer.
But even if we only change one soul, one person, one child, one abused, one abandoned, and set him or her on the right track of life, lived as it should be lived, all spent efforts will be worthy to have been done.
But in order to make possible for them to be a positive, and committed, individual, the chain of support must be consistent and be carried with the same purposeful will by all those who become part of the process.
It is necessary that the highest level of spiritual commitment is carried all through without personal interest or conveniences. It is well known that any chain is as strong as its weakest link, and if a subsequent link is added to the strong initial ones, or if the motivation is influenced by personal likings or disliking, then, the responsible one for debilitating, or modifying, the effort, will see unnecessary failures coming into the pictures, no matter what the amount of justifications are invoked for self-appeasement.
It is then when we should pray for divine guidance, because it could be easy to disrupt the already healing process, sending it back to worse than before circumstances.
It can be argued that this is an inevitable fact of life, but the Lord knows what it really went on and what responsibility everyone involved will carry upon their shoulders.
The ones who did well can rest assured that the consequences will be like an unstoppable avalanche of life changing actions. The ones who did not do so, someday, sooner or later will have to face the consequences of their actions and decisions.
Fortunately, everyone of us, besides of our share of successes or losing, in the course of our life find solace in our inner thoughts, relax at the sight of the beautiful flowers that bloom even in the midst of the deepest piles of waste, and get comforted by the assurance and stability, instilled into our weaknesses, doubts and misfortunes, brought by those special friends, like Ivonne and Richard, among the ones who have a special place in our hearts.
Ivonne has already gone to rest in the loving arms of our Creator, but she left a legacy of rightfulness, generosity, loving acceptance of our weaknesses, encouraging appreciation of our best characteristics, that makes her become a living presence all the while we keep on walking until we also reach our final departure date.
To both of them, she, Ivonne, and he, Richard, I want to dedicate the following thoughts and videos, in humble recognition of their being the strongest links in every chain of life events they became part, and we were lucky to be one of them, from time to time.
To them, because so fittingly relate to them, those verses from Isaiah 52:7. “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who announce peace and bring good news of happiness”.
The good news that there are friends like them, who bring peace and happiness to all who were fortunate to share their friendship!
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