“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…”
2014 is a milestone year for me as I get to celebrate turning 30! My friends all think I’m weird, but I have always looked forward to being thirty. I finally get to say that “I’m thirty, flirty, and thriving” (thanks for a great line Jenna Rink). Ok well not so much flirty, but definitely thriving! In all seriousness though, I’m really looking forward to what’s ahead and that I have an opportunity to reflect on the past 29 years of my life.
One reflection that I can share is I realize that I have been blessed to be a blessing to others. I am over simplifying when I say this, but my 20’s were difficult years with stories of which I am still trying to bring myself to write (a goal for 2014). But through it all I have seen nothing but God’s blessing in my life. The last verse of the often quoted Psalm 23 continues to resound with much weight and significance. Verse six says that “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” and I get this mental image of the wake from an ocean liner disrupting the traveled path and permeating outwards for miles. Like the ocean liner I get a real sense of how I have had many opportunities to leave God’s “goodness and mercy” in my wake as God has lead me through various situations and circumstances over the past 10 years.
With this realization I look forward to taking a moment to pause and celebrate both who God is and what He has done. Along with Matt Kleinhans and Daniel Neiditch (who also have February birthdays) we will be throwing a dance party to celebrate and as a way to be a blessing to others we are asking for donations, (instead of gifts) to our charity:water birthday campaign.
“Water Changes Everything.”
Why charity:water you may ask? charity:water’s mission is simple: “bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries”. It has been incredible to watch charity:water bring clean water to over 3 million people over the past 8 years with simple solutions like freshwater wells, rainwater catchments and sand filters. charity:water has a 100% model where 100% of public donations are used to fund clean water projects. All operational costs are funded by private sponsors and even credit card fees from online donations are reimbursed. Literally every penny you give goes toward funding clean water projects! And to round it off charity:water has a 4 out of 4 star rating on Charity Navigator
More than all the facts is charity:water’s simple statement that “Water Changes Everything.” “Clean water means health, income, and education – especially for women and children.” below is a film from charity:water’s annual September campaign profiling their partnership with Gram Vikas in Orissa, India.
The following video gives a glimpse of charity:water’s work on the ground through partnerships in developing countries. “Our ultimate goal at charity:water is to put ourselves out of business every where we work. When we are no longer needed that means everyone has clean water to drink.”
Scott Harrison, charity:water’s Founder and CEO, is currently in Ethiopia touring water projects and you can follow him on Instagram to be introduced to more stories of how “Water Changes Everything.”
Help make my 30th birthday one to remember and leave “goodness and mercy” in our wake.
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