The difference peace makes and why we need to care

I got up one morning very early to go stand in line for a toy... not bread.....

I turn on the faucet... I do not walk mile upon mile to get water

I go to a closet or a chest of drawers both filled with clothes and I get dressed.. my children do the same

I open the refrigerator or freezer and I pull out food... I go to a store lined aisle after aisle with food...

I tuck my children into bed at night.. they all have a bed.. blankets.. pillows... I turn off a light and I close a door... I do not worry that tomorrow will not come for them..

My children have not known war.... their eyes have not seen blood.. their ears have not heard bombs .....

It dawned on me that day that I take peace for granted.... and I began to thank God for peace... for the fact that my children live in a place that doesn't know the day in and day out effects of war......

My husband travels for business at most a week .. more than not 3 - 4 days... I miss him... I miss the help he is... the kids miss him .. but he is not away in a foreign land fighting a war to keep me and my way of life safe...

I am an American and just for that fact there are places in the world that I am hated..... I am a born again Christian who loves the Lord and teaches my children to do so... there are places in the world (and my country) where I am hated and mocked for my beliefs......

but there are places in the world that I do not understand... that I have never walked in the shoes of the citizens there... I have not lived their lives or faced their losses.... nothing makes violence alright but who would I be if I did not live in a land of peace... if I had seen mother/father, aunt/uncle, grandparents, cousins, siblings killed in front of me... who would I be if my people were being killed just because of an ethnicity or a religion..... who would I be.....

I read today a blog entry about the civil war in Sri Lanka... to my fault I was ignorant of the situation there... but as I read the blog and then the comments my heart was torn... in my belief system we use words to communicate... we use our power to vote .... we enjoy freedom of speech ... but who would I be if that was all taken away.... if my children faced war day in and day out and hunger... and death.... and their was no freedom of speech and there was no "real" vote... what would I do if it wasn't a given that the bus that takes my child to school would make it there and back safely... how would I view a suicide bomber upon that bus....

I read the comments ... there were those from both sides commenting on the blog posting.. it was eye opening... it was heart breaking ..... there are always moms and dads on both sides... women who have carried a baby within them... given birth to a child... had hopes and dreams for that child... men who have wanted to provide for their families... keep them safe from harm... who would we be if those weren't just something we took for granted ... who would we be if we didn't live in a place where peace was for the most part taken for granted....