Last night I was at the U2 concert and was inspired. Okay, maybe inspired isn’t the right word. I was humbled by my own inaction. After the opening act, the jumbo screen ticked off statistics and some of them were staggering. Like the fact that yesterday alone over $61 million dollars was spent on video games alone. Are you kidding me? On top of that people in the US spent over $151 million on weight loss alone yesterday. So we spent over $200 million yesterday in the US on video games and weight loss–I see a bit of irony in that.
It made me sad to think about all the waste and gratuitous consumption. All of which I am a willing participant in. It really hit me yesterday. I had been talking to someone about Noah’s beginning and how he almost died before we could bring him home. About how he would have died if he hadn’t been in our adoption agencies care center. Dehydration from diarrhea is the most common cause of death in children under 5 in Ethiopia and much of the undeveloped/developing world. Much of this is caused from lack of clean drinking water. Something so simple–Water. Clean Water. Clean. Water.
It blows my mind. I dumped out half a bottle of perfectly fine water yesterday because it had gotten to hot in my car. Just thinking about how the most precious resource in so many places–gets wasted here and in other industrial nations each minute. Each second. That water we waste could save the lives of so many children.
I often think, well what can I really do? I am one person. One in a world of 7 billion. But I was reminded that night that one person can make a difference. I am the writer of my own history. I am changing my history. Just like with anything else it only takes a little change.
I am going to 40 in 45 days. 40–wow. It is an age that the birth mothers of my children may or may not see. It is barely considered middle-aged here. So, over the next 45 days I am going to make a donation every day to a charity working to bring the most basic needs to those who don’t have them–water, school, food, water, etc. I am going to simply take the money I would have spent on something frivolous and completely unnecessary and donate it.
Today, instead of buying a coffee (I can make coffee at work myself), I donated $5 to Save the Children. I know it doesn’t seem like much–but $5 is $5 and it will help it can help.
What would you buy today that you don’t need? Can you donate too? ONE can make a difference.
Embracing Imperfection 
i read this the other day and was totally inspired. sadly our family is at the point where we don’t have the money for any extra spending, but it makes me think back to the time before we were parents and when i was working; i can’t believe how much money we wasted that could have gone to those who REALLY needed it.
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So glad I found your site. I have only read a few posts and feel a little like I’ve come home. I live in Yemen, and I have seen first hand some of the issues you discuss. A 2 year old neighbor boy died of diarrhea in one day. In the morning they were asking for help and prayers, in the evening they were praying over him. Standing in line for literally hours at a field pump to get two jugs of water and carrying it half a mile home. So keep on with what you are doing, in this and other things- it DOES make a difference.
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