Perceptions of suffering

Dear Aunt Alice,

I sat with a Zambian friend today and he shared his views on much of life. The one that really struck me was the view that the only thing Americans have to worry about is obesity. It was hard to respond to...this is a man whose family has been through more tragedy than most people in America could dream of, yet he's also a fervent believer in Christ who trusts God in the midst of it all. For all the things that came to mind - cancer, natural disasters, etc. - seemed to sound as though I was diminishing the difficulties of life here, so I mostly just listened.

The truth is, in some ways, he's right. Most Americans have no idea how good they have it materially especially. The worst conditions there are FAR better than village life here. Yet, too often, we're not really thankful for what God has given us and we constantly want more. We do cause ourselves more health problems by indulging ourselves and living lives of gluttony.

I don't know what this will mean for how I live my life when I get back home, but I do know that I can't just live the way I always did...not knowing what I know now.