If somebody approached us and asked us what we’d been grateful for today, I’m sure many of us would think about the bigger blessings we have in life, like: our spouse, our job, wealth etc. But, when was the last time we were grateful for the ‘smaller’ things in our lives? The clean water we drink, heating during winter, or, simply, a door. Yes, a door in our houses.
On a visit to Sudan, I met an elderly man living in a simple mud hut. Inside the hut he had an old bed with a torn mattress, a water can and a stick to help him walk and that was it. Aside from the clothes he was wearing and the slippers on his feet, he had no other belongings.
His name was Ahmed.
His wife had passed away and he had a 13-year-old son. Ahmed suffers from severe migraine and like many others around him, he was a refugee with no job, no income and very little food.
We spoke to Ahmed and informed him that Charity Right would take care of his food needs going forward, God willing. He thanked us but looking at his condition, we were all moved and we asked him if there was anything else we could do for him?
Almost embarrassingly he turned to us and said: “Praise be to God, I have been given this hut but since the beginning, there is no door installed so when it rains, the water floods the hut and at night, mosquitoes and other insects come inside. I would be grateful if you could arrange for a door to be installed.”
Upon hearing this, one would think, like we did, that installing a door would be expensive hence none was installed for him. How wrong we were. We enquired and found that it would only cost £25 to install a door for him! Straight away almost everyone who was with me volunteered to cover the cost.
Upon hearing that he would soon have a door, Ahmed’s face broke into the most beautiful of smiles. It was as if his whole life had changed due to a door which was going to cost £25.
Just let that sink in for a moment.
Every single person in the hut that day walked out with a smile on their faces and a warm feeling which they’ll carry around with them for the rest of their lives.
So, what little blessing will YOU be grateful for today?
