Perspectives..

Yesterday I saw a man getting beaten by the side of the road…

We’ll never know why...all I know is that the wickedness of man is reaching new proportions to the point that these things can carry on in broad daylight. But that’s not the saddest part. The saddest part is that I did nothing to help the situation. I, & no doubt, countless others, drove right on by… Granted, I just caught glimpse of the situation in my rear view & had to keep my eyes on the road. Granted, I was winding down a bit of a mountain road & had to watch very well what I was doing. Granted, by the time my faculties kicked in, so did the realization that the criminal may be armed. But by the time I got home a truer & grander realization kicked in: “Evil prospers when good men do nothing” (does anyone know who originally said that?). Now I know how true that is.

Thankfully communication with God is one reflex that I do have that did kick in immediately & I instantly prayed sincerely that God would do something to help that man. Approximately 240 seconds later a cop car drove past me towards the direction I’d just come from. I prayed again that God would send the police right by (after all it was on the side of the road) & that they would put a stop to what appeared to me a mini-terror that I’d barely witnessed. But if my reflexes were quicker still I would have honked/flashed my brights at the police, or turned around & gone towards them, flagged them down & told them where & when the crime was taking place & urged them to do something.

I have a lot to learn. But I’m praying for a faster mind, so that I can have the correct reflex at the correct time.

I trust that God is helping that man. Why? Because I prayed for him consecutively for the next 2 hours after I got home & I’ve prayed for him alternately since. I’ll keep praying for him.

But another realization still took place in my life because of that 4 second happening (my witnessing the event, that is)--and it produced a learning in my spirit. And that realization was concerning the suffering of so many Africans & so many people in the world in general. This man being beaten probably didn’t have money to pay the taxi & so the taxi driver pulled over & took it out on him. Or even worse, maybe he’d been picked up innocently & then been the subject of a hijack/burglary…with a beating (or is that the better case scenario?—I can’t figure).

Changing the subject slightly, our house help (newly acquired after Jacob & Gansan were slaughtered on the road 4 months ago) lost his daughter recently to heart trouble. She was 13. Probably due to lack of medication & proper health care, due to them being a low, low, low income family. The saddest part is that her father couldn’t even attend her funeral as he didn’t have the money to travel back to Malawi for the burial.

Where this story is actually going is to the point that I realized then that I complain a lot (yet another realization). Ironic because...I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT!! I have a loving family, a beautiful girlfriend, a thrilling/adventurous lifestyle, A fulfilling calling, a God who cares for me, & what’s more, safety, good food, protection, full health…..Basically I lead a charmed life compared to so many. So many of us do. Yet we still find ought to gripe/bemoan the small things missing in our lives (inconsequentials, really, like summer sea-cruises, designer clothes, iphones, expensive cars, etc.). That’s changed for me. If I have to go back & scratch out all the other new Year’s resolutions & replace them with just one it would be this: in 2010 I will be thankful! I will not complain about anything this year & I will thank God for my many blessings.

Alright. There you have it. My new New Year’s resolution for 2010. Thank You God for all you’ve given me. You're the greatest. I love you!