Whatever It Is, It's Not That Bad

 I know a woman named Tevy.  She's a quiet capable mother of three.  She serves.  She's talented.  She's kind.

And she's phenomenal.

She survived the genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s.  She somehow managed to escape from horrors I will never understand and to be a whole and happy person.

But she's more than that.

She's a philanthropist.  In her quiet tenacious way, she teaches cooking classes (she's an amazing cook) and send the proceeds to Cambodia.  I think only she and the people she has served know all of the good she has done.

Because I've taken one of her cooking classes, she sent me some pictures of the recent recipients of her generosity. 

Tevy sent money to the Srash Srong village.  The money was used to buy a bicycle for a family and some rice:

One of these bags of rice costs about a 1/3 of a family's monthly salary.

Can you imagine spending 1/3 of your money on one bag of rice?

Here are a few of the families Tevy's rice fed: 

This is what their homes are like:

I think she wanted to encourage us to keep taking her classes so she could keep helping others.

Well, it worked.  (And I would keep taking the classes anyway because they are great classes.)

Also, these pictures left me with the unmistakable feeling that whatever I have to complain/worry/fret about, it is not that bad.

The village Tevy sent money to is poor.  Poorer than seems possible in 2010.  They don't have any school for the children.

None.

How is that possible?

How can I ever lament the circumstances of my life, when it is a given that my children will be educated?

I can't wrap my mind around the blessing that is.

How can I wish for things like more time to read when there are mothers in the world that wish for more rice to feed their children?

How can I be frustrated by traffic when I don't have to walk everywhere?

At such times, when I feel practically overwhelmed, I want to be more grateful.  I want to help more and complain less.

I want to be Tevy when I grow up.

I showed my children these pictures.  Mark and Emma conferred then brought me their jar.  They've been saving money for tigers.  (Tigers?  I'm not sure why.)  Emma said, "This is more important than tigers."

Mark has coined the phrase "Cambodia Cash" and whenever he sees any money he wants to put it in the jar.

I let him.