Give A Little Bit

Today I am reminded of how many blessings I enjoy.  I woke up this morning after a fabulous weekend of camping and playing around with friends and family, to the hubs watching more videos of the disasters in Japan.  It stuck with me today. My heart is broken for these folks and I find myself wanting to pack up every item in our pantry, all of our towels, clothing, blankets, camping gear, etc... and send it to someone in Japan as fast as I can, with a greeting card.

Thoughtful, but not practical.

Charitable donations can be a very personal thing- which causes to support, how much can you help, who to help, in what ways you choose to help, etc... Maybe you choose to donate regularly, maybe you choose causes closer to home, maybe you support things other than disaster relief or maybe you aren't in a position to donate funds or goods, but you send thoughts and prayers or give of your time to those in need.  Maybe, like me, you get caught up in whatever is important to you at the moment, and you forget those who suffer, until you see disasters rip lives and families apart, and you have a moment to reflect on your blessings.

That's when the waterworks start for me- I have clean running water, and food and electricity and warmth and shelter and the ability to contact my loved ones.  I have a change of clothes and toiletries and a clean place to sleep and a chair to sit in.  Things I regularly forget to be grateful for.

If your heart has been stirred to action for those suffering, and you have talked yourself out of the  "let's pack up everything and ship it over there" frenzy, you may be looking for ways to help.  I found this article helpful for my own purposes and encourage you to give a little bit of whatever to whomever you know could benefit from your abundance.