I realize a Happy Thanksgiving title may be a little late, however, I hope the spirit of the holiday is fresh at hand. This year Ian and I spent Thanksgiving with our dear friends Mary and Rebecca.  It was a genuine time of joy and giving thanks.  

Ian and Mary cutting the turkey

I truly enjoy spending time with them, the conversations are never forced or superficial, and often go very deep. Someone once told me that a friendships is a special soul agreement, this holds very true with them. 

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approached this year I had a lot of mixed feelings.  I think a lot of it stems from my voracious reading of several humanitarian non-fictions. I may very well be reaching DSM criteria for neurosis regarding this new obsession, but I am totally ok with that. 

Enjoying one of my books

It has become a journey for me, a real quest to do something to change the current system and to learn about what the world is like outside of my little box. 

To quote a young Cambodian girl who suffered tremendously during the Pol Pot regime,  the real measure of your wealth is how much you would be worth if you lost everything.  This really made me stop and think (and continue to still be thinking). 

Ian contemplating such thoughts on our hikes. The inspiration coming from the tea he holds in his left hand

What if I did lose it all? What kind of person would I be if I were stripped of all the material possessions that currently give me status and meaning? And, better yet, if this did happen, would I like the person facing me in the mirror? 

At a time when so much craziness (lets call it what it is) surrounds our most precious and sacred holidays,  when we kill people over a parking spot on Black Friday or fight over the latest XBox, what does this mean about our worth? 

The holidays always seem to be a let down for me. Not only has the meaning seemed to have cheapened, but almost entirely forgotten throughout much of the year. There is a ton of gifting and shopping hype for one day, a few hours even, and then the spirit is all over and forgotten for another 11 months.  

I no longer want this bipolar relationship with life. As a matter of fact, I am choosing to not go the material route anymore.  I would rather exchange a few hours of unwapping for a lifetime of true giving, to be someone who could lose it all and still gain the world. 

So, I read, I learn, and I pray.  I listen to my inner voice and I ask. Then i respond, hoping that others will share with me as well. Like Margaret Mead once said, never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens could change the world; indeed it is the only thing that has.  

We are a beautiful creation, in fact fearfully and wonderfully made. Isn't it time that we look behind our commercialized materialism and see our souls instead? 

I by no means have this journey figured out, and in some ways am more confused than ever.  But I do know that for once I am really enjoying finding this side of myself.  

It seems that each day I am more comfortable stripping away pieces of the outer shell and seeing the inner me, it all its goodness and filth.  And, with each layer that is peeled away I gain more  freedom to be what my Creator intended me to be. 

This goodness in motion carried over as I was able to share a piece of my passion with colleagues. In a few weeks I will be headed back to Nicaragua on another medical mission trip.  And like last year I decided to put on another dress making event.  

I had a great response last year. People really seemed to enjoy giving toward a cause. Therefore, it seemed very timely to do this right before Christmas. 

The dresses that I made

Today was the first day or our two day sewing extravaganza. This year in addition to the little dresses I also decided to make school uniform skirts for the little girls.

In most of the 3rd world you have to have a uniform to attend school (navy blue skirts and white collared shirts). Unfortunately, many of the children cannot afford such luxuries and therefore do not attend school. 

I thought that this would be a great way to join our talents to change lives. And, the response this year was again fabulous.  It just feels good to join together with others, man surely wasn't created to be alone. 

 Tomorrow our efforts will continue, but my hope is that those who attend will see the greater meaning of my cause, loving others as you love yourself. 

I am really looking forward to heading back on the field again this year. I have been taking  classes in preparation for a PhD in Global Health and am anxious to apply my new found knowledge to better serve in the 3rd world.  

 Each time I travel I feel I have a better understanding of what it means to live in poverty.  So often I have defined the situation through my North American eyes. Poverty = lack of food, clean water, shelter, medicine, etc and have therefore tried to muscle change through providing medical care. 

Often it just isn't enough and the problems seem so overwhelming. What I am learning, though,  is that through the eyes of the poor, poverty equals shame, humiliation, hopelessness, powerlessness, and despair. Where I once saw things as purely material, I now see them largely as psychosocial. 

Sure, they need the material, but more so I believe that they need to be validated and held worthy as citizens of this world also.  To have a voice and the power to change your circumstances is real wealth.  I am truly grateful that I have the opportunity to learn from others, to hear their stories and use my voice to help give them one as well. 

In the last year things have come around full circle for me, mostly in the pursuit of going back to school.  Ideas are now becoming realities and passions are becoming a lifestyle.  

And one thing I am really passionate about did become reality last month! 

I became a die hard Hunger Games fan (maybe even verging on a little dorky) immediately after I finished the trilogy. Some may say that is only about people killing each other (how different is that from our current world anyway) but I found a higher  and more meaningful symbology from it all. 

As a matter of fact, I see a close correlation with the movie and our current system of social justice and the great social divide.  And I proudly wear my mocking jay pin on my purse everyday (thanks Gretchen!) 

So,  my fabulous husband, Ian, bought me tickets to the Juneau premiere of the latest movie, Catching Fire. Yes, we stood out in the cold and freezing rain to watch the 12:01 am first showing with all the other 14 year old girls.  So glad that he understands me! 

But if you ask him, I think he enjoyed it also, at least he had a reason to get the movie theatre popcorn. 

I wish you all a very meaningful holiday season, and hope that your goodness, love, joy, and peace will continue through this year and into the next. May we continue to respond where we see a need and even more so when we don't. And may the reflection of our souls determine our true wealth. 

Blessings

Sarah