Words of Life

Yesterday's paper contained an article about a woman in New York who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer (not as advanced as mine) three years ago. Apparently she gained a remission, but recently her cancer blood test numbers shot up again; so she went to her church to plan her funeral and then she threw a big birthday party for 130 friends and relatives. I don't know why the Charlotte paper published the article, and I certainly don't know why I read it. Guess where my mind wanted to go as I was trying to fall asleep last night. I thought about the Bible verse that says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue," and realized that the words I was thinking, even without being spoken, were powerful in their effect over my life and attitude. What a war! Over and over I had to reach out and firmly corral my thoughts and direct them towards Life. (I don't intend to be in denial. I just don't intend to let death fill my mind until God says it's time to think about it.) Jesus said He came to give life in abundance; that's what I choose for today, even while I'm reclining in that kemo chair with healing toxins flowing into me.

I got a letter from the SIM worker in Asia who has been appointed our advocate for children at risk. That means she will provide encouragement, ideas, and resources for other SIM workers who are trying to reach that needy population. My heart hurts to think about the millions of children (and others) in our world who are suffering in slavery and other forms of abuse. Here's something I was sad to discover: nearly half of the chocolate sold in the world is harvested by child slaves. Until candy companies learn to certify that their products are totally free from trafficking, I guess I'll boycott chocolate--even that wonderful dark chocolate that they say is so good for us. I learned in the movie "Amazing Grace" that lots of people who objected to slavery in 18th and 19th century England learned to drink their tea without sugar rather than enjoy sweetness produced by slave labor in the West Indies. I'm sure you don't want to know this fact about chocolate either. But if you're curious, you could check www.stopthetraffik.com. It's sobering.

Daughter Karin told me about research in compassion. The study found that people responded strongly to photos and stories of one child, either a girl or a boy, in need. But the compassionate feelings dropped measurably when subjects were exposed to a photo and story about two children in need. What! So easily we tire of compassion? How will we respond to 15 million AIDS orphans in Africa? Or sex trade slaves everywhere? Or victims of malaria and land mines and war and injustice? May God soften our hearts.

I'm so grateful for your prayers as I head out to kemo this morning. You are a blessing!

Love,
Carol