The Cost of Being Me

Yesterday in service I had people add up the dollar amount of what they were wearing and of items they were carrying. The list consisted of:

Clothing
Shoes
Undergarments
Jewelry
Purse/wallet
Electronic devices-- phones, ipods, etc.
Glasses/contacts
Money

My clothing and items totaled $247 without the jewelry or $1047 with it. In Kenya the average household income is $245. It stopped me in my tracks to realize just how much it cost to be me. Apparently alot of you had similar feelings. You tried explaining how if I just hadn't included the one category your number would have been in a more "acceptable" range. I believe I am socially aware and try to make wise choices. I simply had not thought about the sheer amount of money that I have on me at any given time.

It jarred me. I'm grateful to have glimpses of clarity into my life, even when I am not sure that I always want to hear it. Thank you God for teaching me in a variety of ways.

On the journey,
Alecia

Privileges

As much as I loathed all of the political junk mail of the last two months, I always love the process of voting. I look forward to going to the polls whether it is an off-year election or not, which begs the question as to whether any year is truly an "off" year. Yes, I know it means it is not a presidential year; however as I have looked at the ballot, there are important issues to be decided.

For all of the complaining about local, state and national elections, a surprisingly small amount of people actually turn out to vote. Wouldn't it be a sad commentary on life if more people vote on "Dancing With the Stars" than on our off-year election. It's easy to get fed-up with all of the negative commercials and print ads. It's much more satisfying though to walk into the voting booth and cast your vote.

On the journey,
Alecia