Living Life to the Fullest (3-Point Series) - #2 Reading Cross-Culturally

(Read my previous post. It should give you a springboard to start this next lap on.)

1. Eucharisteo. Greek. To be thankful. To feel thankful. To give thanks.

Now. In order for eucharisteo to manifest itself in our lives, we need this next point. Ready? Let’s move on.

2. Read cross-culturally. Absorb missionary biographies. Autobiographies. Stories about the Lost Boys from Sudan. Stories about remote tribes in the middle of Thailand or Papua New Guinea or the jungles in Brazil. Stories about the street children starving and hurting in South America or the Philippines. True stories. And we need these testimonies to truly live.

Really.

I am a living witness of how they transformed and broadened my view of self and world.

Sometimes I become totally absorbed in narratives of child refugees trekking in Sudan without water, who cannot even cry tears because there is no moisture left in them, who gulp down urine because they are so incredibly desperate. And I stare at the glass of water millimeters away, and I cry. Because even a few drops of one of the most common chemical compounds in America can mean the difference between life or death, and how often we accept that simple gift without an ounce of gratitude in our withered bones.

Or I read about the natives in Thailand who think Americans are cannibals because of the man on the Quaker Oats box and the Gerber baby on baby food. They gasp at hot dogs and ketchup, which they mistake for fingers and blood. And laughter bubbles up from deep inside of me. I’ll never see those foods the same way again.

Or anecdotes about the street children in Brazil who sniff glue to get high. Who steal and rob and rape and murder babies. One child in a missionary autobiography didn’t even know any girls who hadn’t resorted to prostitution for survival. And their parents just abandon them, from innocent babies to toddlers to teens, shoving them out from their life to compete for survival in the streets. True stories of how child gangs abuse girls. About children who snatch dinner knives to stab others who steal their food. About street children who cannot cope with the idea that the missionaries don’t want to take advantage of them. And these children grow up believing that this is life, there is no alternative, and this is the normal way to live. And I stare at their faces in the books and I can’t breathe.

And you read of stories like this, and how can your heart not fracture deep down inside? Many times tears somehow come to create blotches on my books because of the tragedy in the world, and I need to do something to combat this injustice like the missionaries are doing, and because this pain is real. Of course, we all know there are things like this occurring around the globe, but reading a firsthand account really opens your eyes. These people suddenly become real and personal and relatable.

Now when I live, when I glance at water or hot dogs, or when I roll over in my nice comfy bed, I can see those blessings as they truly are. And I can contemplate people who remain less fortunate than I am, who covet my prayers. So I pray. Hard.

And thus our prayers can have meaning. When we truly grasp the extent of poverty around the world and that our prayers can indeed impact and change lives that need change, then we will pray. We will perceive a burden to approach the throne of God above and petition for these people who truly need prayer.

And all this enriches our eucharisteo. Our giving thanks.

When we truly notice and inspect and relate to every single miniscule blessing, then can we be thankful.

And not only thankful, but genuinely thankful. When we don’t know, when we don’t see the extent of what we have, then that gratefulness remains limited.

Reading true stories of those hurting around the world opens your eyes and your heart. It allows us to stare past the text messages and Facebook profile pictures. And not only does it allow us to see, it allows us to give thanks and pray wholeheartedly. And when we give thanks and pray on behalf of others, then can we truly live.