Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Mother: A Looking Glass

You know the nursery rhyme "What are little girls made of—sugar and spice and everything nice?" Well, that was not me. I was more like the little girl who "when good was very good but when she was bad, was horrid." Except that I was hardly ever good.

My earliest memory is the loss of some precious candy. I was given a piece of candy, but I wanted two. My mother insisted that it was one or nothing at all and that she was going to do “count till three.” When she got to three and I had not responded, she simply popped the candy in her mouth and walked away. There was no reasoning, no second chance, no saving the candy for later. Incidents like that taught me to make the most of a situation. . . and to let go when necessary and persevere at other times.

In my stubborn spirit, my mother saw potential. So she taught me to channel my headstrong spirit in positive directions. When I wanted to learn to juggle, skip rope or cook, she drew out that same energy and made me persevere and never give up.

More than nurturing me, my mother was my best friend. She has always been there for me, kept my secrets, shared my giggles. When I discovered that boys had some worth after all, I remember pointing ones potential to her.

And in my best friend, I met God. Growing up, I would often hear my mother talking out loud to no one in particular. I soon learned she was talking to God. She'd say stuff like "Now you’ve got to see it from my point of view" or "If you think I can do one more thing today, you’ve just got to show me how." Or when she messed up she’d say "Now you think that’s really funny" or "I’m not going to sop bugging you until you show me how this makes sense." She did a lot of praying on her knees. But she did more just plain talking to Him as if He were standing right next to her.

Yes, my mother taught me a lot of things but most important of all, through her I felt the first warm touch of God’s Love. Yes I was a horrid little girl, but thanks to my mom and her partnership with God, I think I turned out pretty good after all.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

The Plight of Girls in Nepal

A bright-eyed, bubbly, powder-fresh little girl skipping about without a care in the world is a sight that gives one the warm fuzzies. For birthdays, Christmases, and even for no special reason, you shower her with gifts. And stores that cater to little girls have never-ending supply of trinkets and treasures. But did you know that just about the price of a few toys every month can buy life for a little girl in Nepal? For girls in Nepal life is anything but made up of sugar and spice and everything nice.

The stories about the plight girls are many and begin even before birth---aborted female fetuses, suffocation at birth, abandoned by family, child labor, debt bondage, early marriage, prostitution, etc. While the stories are many, they are commonplace. You don't read much about these girls in the papers. Only a handful of organizations try to make a difference. Even the government has no social service or welfare plan for unwanted girls left of the streets to fend for themselves.

Consider these facts and you’ll see the value of sponsoring the life of a little girl in Nepal:

1. The general male female ratio in the world is 1:3. But in Nepal, because of the abortion of female fetuses, the male female ratio is 1: 0.9. (District Demographic Profile of Nepal, 2003, published by Informal Sector Research & Study Center). About 2/3 of the girls in Nepal lose their life before it even begins.

2. 7 percent of girls are married before age 10 and 40 percent by age 15. (United Nations research as quoted on EquityFeminism.com)

3. Approximately 63,230 girls each year are forced to labor. Of these 3,027 are under the age of 6. (District Demographic Profile of Nepal, 2003, published by Informal Sector Research & Study Center)

4. Every year around 10,000 girls, most between the age of 9 and 16, are sold to brothels in India. (Tim McGirk, "Nepal's Lost Daughters, India's soiled goods," Nepal/India:News, 27 January 1997)

5. It is not uncommon for parents to sell their daughters and for husbands get rid of their young unwanted wives for US$200 to $600. Depending on her beauty, a girl can fetch anywhere from less than a water buffalo, to slightly more than a video recorder. Organizers in rural areas, brokers and even family members sell girls. Husbands sometimes sell their wives to brothels. (Tim McGirk, "Nepal's Lost Daughters, 'India's soiled goods,"Nepal/India News, 27 January 1997)

6. "Deukis" is a system where by rich childless families buy girls from poor rural families and offer them to the temples as though they were their own. These girls are forced into prostitution. In 1992, 17,000 girls were given as deukis. (Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Report on Violence Against Women, Gustavo Capdevila, IPS, 2 April 1997)

Monday, May 08, 2006

Survival--Without the Spirit

Saw this on the National Geographic Channel:

When a female prairie dog has a litter of pups, she needs plenty of nourishment and stamina. The pups are forever hungry and demand more and more milk every day. Understandably, the larger the litter, the greater the demand on the mother.

So what do you think the mother does when she realizes she is not producing enough milk for her pups? Like any mother, she is determined to do what it takes to keep her pups alive. So here’s what she does—She pays a visit to her sister, who has also just had a litter of pups. And then while she is there, she EATS her sister’s pups—her own nephews and nieces!! She now is once again fortified with nourishment to care for her own family.

According to statistics, 39% of prairie pups are cannibalized every year. That’s one in every 7 litters! Talk about survival tactics!!

Praise God that we are created with a conscience, with the power of the Holy Spirit that gives us the natural inclination to do good, to choose the right over the wrong.