I have become grumpy since having kids. If I really sit down and think about it, I'm pretty horrified at the number of days I think to myself "Man, this parenting thing is really hard!" Frankly, I don't know what 'really hard' is. Most Americans don't. To me, 'really hard' has always meant cranky kids, a messy house, a sleepless night, failing at my attempt to keep up with Joneses as they say.
And then, today, this article has been circulating the internet. It describes in horrifying ways the choices some parents in famine-ravishes areas of Africa are having to make. The choice of which child lives, and which dies. These families are having to travel long distances on foot with little food or water while watching their children grow weak and succumb to exhaustion and starvation. They have to face the agonizing decision of who receives their limited supply of life-giving water and who is simply too weak. As a parent I cannot even begin to imagine having to make such a choice. As an American, I praise my Lord that I will likely never have to make the choice. And as a human I'm asking myself how and where I can give to help these people.
I know I can't just run on down there with a bus full of food and water, but the article does provide this link with 45 organizations currently accepting donations for the aid of these people. We have so much. They have so little. I'm just hoping that we can do something to help one fewer parent have to make such a terrible decision.