Bird of Paradise in my valley
Good Morning, God!
On a recent jog around our neighborhood, I came across a Bird of Paradise bush. I was pretty ratty, God. But, I found one beautiful bloom and took its picture. One bloom affects us. We can SEE it. But more than three? They seem to disappear.
Somehow this reminds me of the “truth” that when One Child is harmed, everyone rallies. But, let that number grow so that many thousands or millions of children are hungry or abused or crippled — then we shrug it off as too big to fix and too hard to focus on.
I had, I confess, accepted that as just the way things are. But, recently I saw a TED talk that gave me hope! Actually, just the fact that there ARE TED talks gives me a lot of hope, God!
This one was done by Bruce Aylward, who is head of the World Health Organization. He was talking about how close we are to eradicating polio — and how important it is to wipe it out, not just contain it. That’s because viruses like polio can morph and then, with global travel, emerge in ten or twenty countries in just weeks. And, unlike smallpox, you can’t tell who is a polio carrier.
But the good news is that there is a Worldwide Web of Volunteers, who have just about finished the job of vaccinating at risk children in the furthest reaches of our planet. Volunteers who are going into slums and jungles and war zones. These volunteers are primarily from Rotary Clubs around the world. They are extremely well organized and they are working together with governments and other agencies to help others.
Watching the video I wondered: What might they work on once Polio IS eradicated? I felt a SURGE of HOPE, God, when that idea came. Please, God. Help us continue to work together!
Story teller,
A Moment with God 
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