Another Sign of Wealth

I'm reminded afresh of what we so often take for granted.
Silas had been unwell for a number of days but he took a turn towards 'worse.'  Diarrhea turned bloody, crankiness turned to lethargy, and this Mama put on her nursing cap that I'd just laid down after 48 hours of work.

We didn't blink.  We didn't hesitate.  We didn't really have to wonder if we could afford to.  We grabbed our stuff, and hit the road- straight to the hospital.  If we didn't think we could get there fast enough, we could have just picked up the phone and they would have come to us.

This is not the reality for most mothers around the world.  A 3 year old gets diarrhea, there is no pedialyte, maybe no water, definitely no popsicles.  The Mom might have to strap their child on their back and walk for miles to get to help. Or maybe they are helpless to stop their child from inevitable demise.  If the water is making their child sick, more water would only make them worse.  Feverish?  The hot sun would only worsen the fever.  Maybe they can't even afford to pay for antibiotics- a simple fix.  Maybe they can't walk the miles necessary on foot because they are unwell themselves, or their other children would suffer at their absence.  Maybe they have no choice at all but to watch as their 3 year old goes from playing happily and energetically, to fading away right before their eyes.  I can't imagine.  It's too horrific and heart rending.

We all know this. We all have seen pictures and turned away.  But would I be willing to travel to their home, and let my child die in their place?  Isn't this what God has done for us?  Shouldered the death attached to our humanity upon himself so that we might live?

Is not Christ asking us to do the same?  Die to self, so that others might live?

I could whine about the whole ordeal of going to the hospital for two days in a row and wiping my son's bum 100 times a day, but mostly I am so completely and utterly thankful.  My delightful and dramatic eldest, my child, can have life because I live in a country with enough wealth that healthcare is a citizen's right, not a privilege only for the rich.  p.s. Don't take this as a political statement, I don't mean it to be.

May my gratitude turn to acts of service and my faith turn to deeds as I remember, pray for, and seek ways to help other Moms around the world who might not have the means to keep their own children alive.