I've been going through a bit of a rough patch in my life. Things aren't exactly going according to plan in various circles of my life and, truth to tell, it's been getting me down of late. I sometimes (probably selfishly) bemoan (largely to myself) how my life isn't exactly the rose garden I thought it would be.
Truth to tell, it's not nearly as bad as my emotions would tell me. I do have a roof over my head. I'm not going hungry. I have a good job. Eeees and I are still madly in love with each other after all these years. I am relatively healthy, as are the members of my family. There are lots of people who would love to have all my problems, as long as they came with the good parts of my life as well.
I was given a reminder of this point recently, when I volunteered to work at the annual TAFKID Purim carnival. TAFKID is an organization that is devoted to helping the families of children with special needs (both physical and mental). They provide support and advocate for these children. At the carnival, I get to interact with the children -- of all levels of disability. I see those that are high-functioning, and those that are confined to wheelchairs and barely able to communicate.
In many ways, it hurts to see these children. It hurts to see that many of them will not have the opportunity to have the things that I have come to take for granted in my life -- the ability to walk; to marry and have children; to hold a job; the ability to express myself and make my wants and desires known without too much difficulty. They and their families face hardships and challenges that I, thank God, do not know.
It's sometimes very easy to focus on our own problems and forget the blessings that HKBH has given us. Perhaps it's a good thing that I volunteer here and, at least once in a while, am reminded that, despite my own personal problems, I still have it pretty good in life.
The Wolf