I read a story once. A beautiful and painful story of Siddhartha, the Prince of Suffering. He spoke of leaving his home, an official palace full of gold and jewels and extravagant provisions. Any food Siddhartha, the Prince, desired was fulfilled.
One day, on a regular day like regular days, something extraordinary happened. He saw someone who did not belong to the palace. He was dressed in ragged cloths, his skin was in darkened greys, and the most extraordinary thing was that he did not have a leg.
This was the first time Siddhartha saw suffering.
He followed the man outside of the palace gates and into another world.
For the first time, he saw people who did not have enough to eat. For the first time, he saw people who were sick. For the second time in his life, he saw suffering.
This has become my story. I grew up in a family, who is not rich, but a family that had everything we needed. I didn’t know how to budget until I started accounting for my own expenses. For the first time, I knew what it was like to want something ordinary, but not be able to have it. It made me think of the refugees that my Church took care of. What it would be like to not have the food you desire, to not have clothes you are proud of, what it would be like to see your kids not have the confidence that comes with being worry-free.
God placed suffering in my view. My eyes saw people who became my friends, people who did not have enough to eat. People who suffered from mental illness, from mental illness that is exacerbated by stress, and who had dreams but could not work at them, due to their illness. For the first time, I learned that 181 dollars could feed 2 people for a month with good food! Healthy cheese ravioli, ham and cheese sandwiches, pasta, 1 kg of chicken and ground beef. Food I would love to have too!
I met with my friend from church who suffered from diabetes so much so that she was not sure she would live. When she was younger she had taken a drug that ruined her liver so she could not take diabetes medicine and all she wanted on a regular day, like regular days, was to have a cookie. Her closest family, her sister and her brother-in-law, were in need of her help, and as she had a beautiful heart, she was sending them most of her money. God, who will always take care of us, stepped in and provided her favourite vegetables and chicken dumplings as a blessing through Christians who were so blessed to be used by Jesus as his hands and feet.
From these friends, I learned how important food is to people in need. That is why, Matt and I, would like to raise money for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank at this time.
Thank you for reading this story and thank you for supporting OUR FAITH CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS as we try our best to donate as much as we can to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
Merry Christmas to you all as I drink coffee from a mug with important words, “To you is born this day a Saviour who is Christ the Lord!”
Blessings,
Our Faith Can Move Mountains
