Feed My Starving Children

So I’m feeding my grandson Leland the other day when suddenly it hits me, I’m really good at this, much better at it in my opinion, than either his mother or his grandmother, and the reason is simple, our approaches are polar opposites.

My wife and daughter are two very strong willed, goal oriented women. When it comes to getting something done, they want it to be done their way and in the most expedient manner possible.  As a result, feeding time can become not only a race against the clock but also a battle of wills.  Occasionally if Leland wants his bottle first and they’re in the mood to feed him his cereal, a fight ensues.  Many times I’ve sat at the kitchen table and watched him shake his head “NO!” quickly from side to side as a spoonful of oatmeal and blueberries is smeared onto seemingly every part of his face other than his mouth.  By the time his bowl is empty I’m sure he’s gotten only about half of his daily required nutritional intake because there seems to be enough food on his cheeks, nose and forehead to feed a small town.  Total elapsed feeding time from start to finish, about 10 minutes.

I’m a little more flexible.  I like to take the approach that we’re having a dining ‘experience.’  If I went to a fine restaurant with a good friend I wouldn’t dream of telling him in what order he should eat his food, and I don’t do that with Leland either.  If he wants his milk first, that’s what he gets.  If he wants to take a break so that he can examine the little blue dinosaurs on his bib, then we take a break.  And if I happen to miss his mouth with a spoonful of rice and peas, a damp rag is always there to keep his cute little face looking fresh and clean.  We talk, we laugh, we sing.  Total elapsed feeding time from start  to finish, about 40 minutes.

Before you get mad and assume that I’m saying I’m the better care giver, I’m not.  The love and patience my daughter and wife show this little boy far exceeds mine.  But our feeding methods are different, because while they see it as a task to be quickly completed so that they can move on to the next task, I see it as relaxing and fun.

I hope you can relate to what I’m saying, because if you can, then you will also relate to what I’m about to say next.

Recently I started to think about how I would feel if I could no longer experience the joy of feeding my grandson.  What if circumstances became so dire that I no longer had any food to give him.  What if the singing and laughing we do during mealtime were suddenly replaced with cries of hunger?  Thank God that when my Leland cries for more, I can open the cupboard and find more.  But what about those parents and grandparents around the world who can’t?  What about them?

The bad news is this;  Approximately 6,200 children die every day from hunger and hunger related disease, and there’s not a thing that grandpa or grandma can do about it but stand there and watch it happen.  6,200 a day.

But there’s some good news too;  Help is on the way.  On October 4th and 5th Immanuel Lutheran Church of Belvidere will host a food packing event where volunteers will pack 150,000 meals in 2 days.  These meals will be shipped around the globe in an effort to help alleviate world hunger and save kids lives.  The response to this event has been overwhelming, so overwhelming in fact that we’re already working on doing it bigger and better next fall.

So I’m making a plea that you prayerfully consider helping us too.  I’m not asking you to give till it hurts, I’m just asking you to give til it helps.  Whether it’s with your time, talents, or a monetary donation, we can all play a part in seeing that someones grandson or daughter goes to sleep with a full stomach tonight.

If you are interested in making a difference please click on the following link,  http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1062575

Thank you

Charity never humiliated him who profited from it, nor ever bound him by the chains of gratitude, since it was not to him but to God that the gift was made.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery