The Bracelet

                                                    The Bracelet                                 Sam McDonald

I wear upon my left wrist a little bracelet of red and blue yarn wrapped tightly around a simple wire. It doesn't even have a true catch. A simple knot serves as a closure. The knot is sort of frayed a little around the edges… kind of like me. 

I like it... I can relate.

           I wear it because it was made by Mita, a little 9 year old Guatemalan orphan girl who gave it out of loving gratitude to one of the missionaries who brought her the word of God, and food, and basic necessities that to her were luxuries. 
           
            Today... for some reason... I started thinking about the little girl that made the bracelet, and the very different perspective and attitude that she has versus how we ('we' being the often spoiled, grasping, and self-serving American Christian) view life in general - and our relationship with God over all.

         I highly doubt that Mita has ever had very much… yet she is reported to be a happy, laughing, smiling, and loving child who is very happy to have anyone spend time with her, and care for her, and love her. Mita has probably never had very much at all, yet she’s happy with the basic necessities of life: food; water; shelter; clothing; a safe and secure place to stay, where good people will care for her when she’s scared – or sick – or hungry. She counts as luxury the things that we take for granted. She’s happy to be alive - thankful for what she has. She is devoted to those that love and care for her in any way.

And then there is the basic American Christian. 

How many of us have a home that is warm when it’s cold, and cool when it’s hot, with a comfortable place to lay our heads and sleep out of the elements? Wind and rain, cold or heat, or nature’s biting, stinging, and sometimes dangerous critters… of both the two legged and four legged kind, barely even cross our minds. We have enough to eat, fresh clean water, TV, computers, and all of the latest electrical gadgets for entertainment. We can communicate with almost any of our friends and family instantly by home phone, computer, or cell phone. If we don’t want to eat what we have in the house we jump in, or on, one of our several vehicles and drive to the restaurant of our choice – without thought. If we or one of our family gets sick we go to the Doctor of our choice. If anyone gets very sick or has an accident we take them to the Hospital Emergency Room – and there’s never one that is ever more than 15 minutes away. Every day we search for what to wear, sorting through closets containing clothes that haven’t been worn in a long time - sometimes years. We jump in our baths or showers, use up some of the hot water, brush, floss, do our duty, and either rush through something to eat, or hit the nearest, favorite drive through for a quick breakfast before work, or shopping, a ball game, a day traveling, or even a day just frittered away in our favorite pastime. 

And that is the most BASIC American life as we know it.

Yet we sometimes aren’t happy with all of that. At one time or another we all seem to forget what God has blessed us with, and sometimes we even get kind of an attitude about it. We want more. We wonder why someone, not half as ‘religious’ as we are, has more than we do. WE deserve that new car, that bigger house, that cruise, that trip, that great paying job… IT’S JUST NOT FAIR GOD!

We develop bad attitudes and sleepless nights worrying about the next rung up the ladder of  life, and we give God’s time to the pursuit of those rungs. Unless something tragic happens, we give most of our time to the heartless world, and not to the loving God who gave us His Son. 

 We forget who God IS.

 In our audacity we forget to fear.

...And then there are people all over the world who are like Mita... grateful for what they have - though it be very little in our concept of what is much. They appreciate what God has given them and they show it in their lives and in their attitudes.

They take time to be thankful. 

Mita loves those who love her. She spends time making sure that those that do love her, knows that she loves them – without reserve – without question. She lives out her love in devotion to those that have sacrificed for her, and is happy and satisfied to simply be loved back.

            I contemplate my simple bracelet of red and blue yarn, wrapped tightly and lovingly around a wire, closed with a plain, frayed knot... and I have to wonder... are we the blessed? … or is Mita?