for I was thirsty and you gave me water to drink

Last night as I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs, Sarah's post over at Clover Lane touched my heart. My mother's heart to be exact. Check out her entry HERE.

I'm always inspired by Sarah's words and all the caring things she does for her family and her home. Her post left me thinking about mothers a whole continent away. As mothers we can't help but worry about our children. We worry about the big things and we worry about the little things. How heartbreaking must it be to live with the constant fear of "what if". What if today is the day my child will get sick...from water. The water I give him or her. The only water I have to give. Wow, that's one worry most of us in our country don't even have to think about. But so many others do...

We can change that for less than the cost of a fast food meal...for less than the cost of a movie ticket...$10 is such a "doable" gift. I know in these tough economic times we are all pinching pennies and really trying to stretch our dollars. But $10 will provide a person in Africa clean water for 10 years. Yes, you read that right - 10 years! I must say I was a little blown away by that statistic. So I checked out charity: water and learned about their program to drill wells in villages in Africa so that communities can have clean water.

If you're sitting on the fence wondering whether your $10 can really make a difference, please take a moment to read Helen's story. Your gift will not only save lives, it will make someone who is beautiful on the inside feel beautiful on the outside. It will give a mother hope. Wow, that is really powerful and I know that as women, as mothers, we can all relate to that.

Here's a short excerpt from Helen's story, but please click on the link and read the whole story.

Helen spent most of her day walking and waiting. She told me each day she’d say to herself, “How should I use this water today? Should I water my garden so we can grow food? Should I wash my children’s uniforms? Should I use it to cook a meal? Should we drink this water?” With two children, one husband and 10 gallons, Helen had to make choices. I saw the shame in her eyes when she described how she would return from her long trek to find her two young children waiting for her. They were often sent home from school because their uniforms were dirty. Helen just never had enough water.

I saw now why she was so eager to scream out her joy and gratitude. She wanted me to understand that this gift from charity: water was real. With the new well in her village, her life was transformed.

So won't you join me?
Will you let the first gift you buy this Christmas be life?
Thank You!