Be Thankful

I remembered the day when Bobbie Houston read a few pages from this book called "Slave" in Hillsong Women about 3 years ago. I remembered my house mates telling me that many woman in the meeting couldn't accept what was being read to them - how a 12 year old girl (a true story) was being circumcised, raped, force into slavery, tortured, abuse and she goes through all of it on her own...fighting for her own freedom. I read this book before and I finally get a hold of it just recently. I never would have thought that I am able to find this book in Borders or even in Malaysia at all.

I managed to spend some time reading this book in Starbucks and in gym while waiting for class today. I am the type of reader that would imagine what I read and many of times the picture is just so real in my head. My heart sank as I kept on reading. It breaks my heart that there are so many females out there in this world that goes through so many pain and suffering. It really makes me ponder how blessed I am. I believe that there are many people that still grow their own grains and own crops; living in mud huts at the mountains, do not have clothes, do not have electricity and whenever they need water they have to walk a long way to fetch water from a water hole. There are so many people that work so hard but they only earn 1 to 2 dollars a month. Yet these people are grateful with what they have. But traditions still remains. Traditions such as females being circumcised is such a tragic thing.

I have yet to finish the book BUT it really made me realize we (the blessed ones) should never take what we have right now for granted. We should be grateful that we have clothes to wear, food to eat without going to hunt for them, a house with tv, computer, air con; a car to drive and being able to travel anywhere. We should treasure every single thing that we have. For me, not only I should be thankful but I really hope that I am able to do something for all these females for it breaks my heart to know what they have to go through at such a young age.

"O Lord, protect them, love them, have mercy upon them..."