just when you're sure they're not hearing you

Earlier this week some maintenance workers at our apartment were attempting to dig up some bushes with a large piece of equipment.  Why they didn't just use shovels, I have no idea.  Anyway.... 10 minutes into their job they hit a water line that sent water gushing from the ground for hours.  We lost our water for a few hours and the boys were watching the whole thing go down as if it were playing on an IMAX screen.

As they stood on our porch, watching what they knew to be clean water flowing out into the street, they both had the same surprising reaction.  "Mom!  They're wasting all that water!  People in Africa need clean water and all that water is just going into the street!"  I quickly explained that what happened was an accident and that they were doing their best to stop the water and that they weren't intentionally wasting water.  

But deep down my heart was bursting with joy.  See, sometimes I feel like a clanging cymbal or a broken record.  I'm constantly hearing things like, "We don't have ANYTHING good to eat." or "Can't we have something besides WATER to drink?".  And I am constantly reminding my children how others live, how thankful we should be, and how we are responsible for helping those who are suffering in ways we could never imagine.  And I usually feel like my children are listening and saying to themselves, "Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Yada, yada, yada."  But now I know.  They're listening.