Entitled to a Family Vacation?

According to my younger son, we are entitled to a family vacation every summer (even if it consists of my sister’s family coming to town and staying at a hotel that has a pool, as it very well may this summer; he has checked off on the validity of that counting as a family vacation).  As God has opened my eyes to the plight of the world’s orphans over the last year-and-a-half, my filters have changed.  I have begun to see normal family activities through their eyes.  For example, does an orphan in sub-Saharan Africa even know what a vacation is?  How far outside his or her reality would a vacation be?

I spent some time with both of my boys one night a few months ago talking about the things we take for granted that orphans do not.  We came up with all sorts of things:  our own beds and bedrooms and bathrooms, goodnight kisses and prayers at bedtime, choices of what’s for dinner (or any other meal), family pets, toys galore, collections, closets full of clothes, and – maybe most importantly – a mom and dad.

Since that conversation, the “does an orphan even understand what that is” filter has been on high alert in my life.  If my daughter needs to go somewhere, she can drive one of our three vehicles there; do most orphans her age have that ability and access?  My sons and I have spent countless hours shooting basketball in our driveway; how many orphans have access to that?  Two of my kids get back today from church camp: how many orphans get to go?

I don’t provide all these things for my kids because they’re entitled to them; I provide because I love them and want them to enjoy life with our family.  So the sidewalk chalk that the orphans in Haiti were so enamored with wasn’t the thing; it was the love and care of the team that took it and gave it to them.  The new basketball court, soccer goals, and playground equipment that our team recently installed at the deaf school in Jamaica weren’t the thing; it was the international language of kindness that reflected the kindness of the Father.  The stuffed animals and songs in Russia weren’t the thing; it was the connection with people outside the walls of the orphanage that said that there were those outside that wall who hadn’t forgotten them.

I wonder, will you ponder the things you take for granted and consider what that might look like for an orphan somewhere in the world.  I would love to hear what your filters catch.  Use the Comments section below to continue the conversation.

Thanks for reading,
Al

Technorati Tags: vacation,orphan,Africa,Haiti,Russia,Jamaica,kids,entitled,family