“Tears came from my eyes”
Unable to quickly bring the single English word to mind, my friend found a way to tell me just how badly she felt: “Tears came from my eyes.”
Life is so hard, she told me. First she and her family were driven from their home country. Then they spent nearly two decades in a refugee camp. Now they are trying to make it in the U.S., but the work they must do is so hard, sometimes too demanding for bodies worn down from years of inadequate food and medical care.
I’m a fixer. I like to solve problems. But I can’t fix this. When a family first arrives in the U.S. with refugee status, they receive help with rent and food and medical care, but those supports quickly disappear. I cannot house another family. I’m facing health insurance insurance issues of my own.
I told my friend that I care. That I feel sad about what she is facing. That I will pray. That we can get out of the house and take a long walk by the lake sometimes if that will help.
The need is so vast, and we give as we can. Beyond that, what do we have besides friendship and prayer?
August 31st, 2009 at 10:18 am
Unlimited needs around us, but limited time, physical energy, emotional energy, money, space, resources. Prayer is the only thing that’s unlimited. I don’t pray enough.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:38 am
I think the hardest thing for compassionate people like you is to accept the fact that we can’t help with every need out there. We do what we can, and hope others will do what they can, and if enough of us do that the world gets a little better. You do a lot Meg, and the friendship and compassion you offer makes it stretch that much further.