Without hesitation I would say that some of my greatest life lessons have been experienced abroad. We live in a great, blessed land of opportunity. Just recently my family and I spent some time in Honduras on the island of Roatan. I'm not sure what the average person conjures up when thinking of Honduras, but I didn't have a whole lot of knowledge of the country before we booked the trip. What I learned prior to and visiting is that the country laden with lush rainforest and picturesque beaches also faces tremendous poverty. The average worker earns an average of $15 a day.
We spent some time at an area orphanage as kids ran around on scooters, kicked around soccer balls and gained insight as to how many orphanages were on the island along with the stark reality that there is little room for opportunity or breaking out of the cycle of poverty.
From Honduras, Nicaragua, Egypt, Haiti, Fiji, Belarus and the Dominican the one constant factor was that those with the least seemed the most content. I am grateful for the comforts of home and every day living. From my lap top, iPhone, wifi, having a vehicle, running water and an air-conditioned home these are all things that make life a little more pleasurable. But sometimes there is that voice in the back of my head of just having too much stuff that has a way of interfering in the quality of life.
There is too much clutter that detracts from the beauty of the twenty -four hours of the day. Finding contentment isn't so easy sometimes. We live in a world with great beauty, but there is also so much heart ache and heaviness. I believe our days and years are so much fuller when we take the opportunity to enjoy the blessings around us. Stuff cannot bring joy. We might try with all our might, but it doesn't.
Being content, fulfilled is a beautiful thing. It has been through my faith and relationship with God that has altered my perception of what is and what isn't important in this world. If the people of Honduras can be content with so little and so many Americans are discontent with so much there's something very wrong in how we are doing things.
My hope is that we use these faces and hearts to challenge ourselves and look on a heart level not a monetary level. Life lessons that resonate far and deep if we allow them.
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