Thanksgiving

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Habakkuk 3:17-18

This is Thanksgiving week. Here in the US, that means gorging on food and then going to the stores and gorging on consumer items the following day. The stores aren’t waiting this year. The gorging will begin in most places before Thanksgiving Day is officially over.

That’s not to say we Americans are without our problems. The economy continues to trudge along poorly. Many people are without jobs and are on the brink of losing homes. The reality is stretching the paycheck becomes more of a challenge each day. Yet despite this, we are still the most blessed nation in the world. No matter the difficulties, we enjoy the most basic commodity others lack worldwide. Consider these facts:

Today’s water crisis is not an issue of scarcity, but of access. More people in the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet. And as cities and slums grow at increasing rates, the situation worsens. Every day, lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills thousands, leaving others with reduced quality of life.

The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.

In just one day, more than 200 million hours of women’s time is consumed for the most basic of human needs — collecting water for domestic use. This lost productivity is greater than the combined number of hours worked in a week by employees at Wal-Mart, United Parcel Service, McDonald’s, IBM, Target, and Kroger, according to Gary White, co-founder of Water.org.

To go one step farther, how many in the world have running hot water Americans are blessed with?

It’s easy to focus on what we lack during tough times—nationally and individually. But on Thursday, take a moment to count your blessings, no matter how small they may seem.

(Ital. facts from Water.Org)