i’ve been thinking a bit this week about healing and wondering if my thinking around this subject needs to be stretched. i’ve always thought that healing came as the result of prayer or faith. and yet i’ve known people who have spent hours on their knees praying for healing with no visible results. these are people of great faith, but again, no visible results.
i still think that healing can come as a result of prayer or faith, but am starting to wonder if there are other means to that same end. for example, if i were to purchase fair trade products that ultimately support the livlihood of others, could that result in healing?
in the case of forgotten, each t-shirt purchased helps to create opportunities for three groups of people. farmers who grow the cotton. textile workers who transform the cotton into clothing. and teenagers who screen print the final product. these opportunities allow these individuals to make a fair wage and afford things they used to get by without. more and better types of food for their families. school fees for children. and healthcare for family members who need it.
let’s say that the additional jobs and income that are created as a result of forgotten purchases begin to reduce the amount of stress in a textile worker’s home. that creates less friction between this worker and their spouse, which could lead to the healing of a fractured relationship. a better job opportunity for a teenager gives him the ability to earn enough money to attend a community college. he is the first in his family to attend college and begins to learn at a higher level. this could be viewed as a healing of the mind. or a cotton farmer who now earns four times more than she used to as a direct result of entering into a fair trade relationship. she is now able to pay for her son to have surgery on his leg, which has been infected for two years. her son is now able to walk and considers himself healed.
that challenges me to think differently about healing. it makes me think that healing does not only come as a result of prayer or faith, but also as a result of sacrifice. i do believe that god is the one who does the healing. but i also believe that i can be a part of the process. and that requires sacrifice. this could be a sacrifice of time and service. a sacrifice of belongings. or a sacrifice of my finances. which leads me to believe that if i can begin to sacrifice some of the conveniences in my life — that are often the direct result of living in an affluent society — perhaps i can become part of a movement that seeks to bring healing to those who need it most. to support opportunities that result in the healing of minds, bodies, relationships and a whole host of other ailments that plague the forgotten of the world.
i am convinced that helping the marginalized to heal the wounds that society has inflicted, is at the very heart of forgotten. and i would invite you to join with us, as we seek to empower others by creating opportunities that at the very least, result in improved standards of living. and at the very most, result in transformational healing.
i still think that healing can come as a result of prayer or faith, but am starting to wonder if there are other means to that same end. for example, if i were to purchase fair trade products that ultimately support the livlihood of others, could that result in healing?
in the case of forgotten, each t-shirt purchased helps to create opportunities for three groups of people. farmers who grow the cotton. textile workers who transform the cotton into clothing. and teenagers who screen print the final product. these opportunities allow these individuals to make a fair wage and afford things they used to get by without. more and better types of food for their families. school fees for children. and healthcare for family members who need it.
let’s say that the additional jobs and income that are created as a result of forgotten purchases begin to reduce the amount of stress in a textile worker’s home. that creates less friction between this worker and their spouse, which could lead to the healing of a fractured relationship. a better job opportunity for a teenager gives him the ability to earn enough money to attend a community college. he is the first in his family to attend college and begins to learn at a higher level. this could be viewed as a healing of the mind. or a cotton farmer who now earns four times more than she used to as a direct result of entering into a fair trade relationship. she is now able to pay for her son to have surgery on his leg, which has been infected for two years. her son is now able to walk and considers himself healed.
that challenges me to think differently about healing. it makes me think that healing does not only come as a result of prayer or faith, but also as a result of sacrifice. i do believe that god is the one who does the healing. but i also believe that i can be a part of the process. and that requires sacrifice. this could be a sacrifice of time and service. a sacrifice of belongings. or a sacrifice of my finances. which leads me to believe that if i can begin to sacrifice some of the conveniences in my life — that are often the direct result of living in an affluent society — perhaps i can become part of a movement that seeks to bring healing to those who need it most. to support opportunities that result in the healing of minds, bodies, relationships and a whole host of other ailments that plague the forgotten of the world.
i am convinced that helping the marginalized to heal the wounds that society has inflicted, is at the very heart of forgotten. and i would invite you to join with us, as we seek to empower others by creating opportunities that at the very least, result in improved standards of living. and at the very most, result in transformational healing.
