Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Prosperity (05/11/06)
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TITLE: Perspective Above 10,000 Feet | Previous Challenge Entry
By Kelly Rinehart
05/18/06 -
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A glance to the left changed the mental course of my trip. Nestled into this majestic setting, a Peruvian family was making bricks out of dirt and grass. Each piece was meticulously formed into a seemingly perfect rectangle, reminiscent of the miraculous innovations of the preceding Incas. The blocks were laid to dry in the intense sun and later gathered to build the very structure in which the family lived. This was do-it-yourself taken to a whole new level.
As I walked by, they were taking a break, sitting between house and bricks, looking out over one of the most grand mountain ranges in the world. Though their home would seem nothing more than a handmade hovel to many, their vista would be worth millions by our standards. Something about the scene changed me inside. Here I was – a privileged traveler from powerful nation. There they were - the pitied poor of a third-world country. Yet, in that moment, I realized that they are, in profound ways, much richer than we will ever be. Certainly, there are serious challenges and trials involved with living miles and miles from health care and schools and other institutions that meet crucial needs in life. Yet, here is a family who knows a contentment that we cannot seem to grasp in our culture. More importantly, they know a peace not intruded upon by technologies, and busyness, and greed. We may have help to offer them, but they do not need our pity. I felt more inclined, rather, to pity myself and be ashamed of the egocentricity in my culture.
I did not leave Peru willingly. But, I returned home with a renewed desire to live more simply and to resist the pettiness pushed by my prosperous surroundings with more tenacity. To prosper at heart is something that cannot be bought or even sought after. It is right where you are.
Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV) “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
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