Update from Corrina at Hungry for Life

Here's an update from Corrina. Please continue to pray for her recovery, and pray for the ministry that she has through Hungry for Life. I think that we should also be praying for hearts that break when God's heart does, that we will feel our self centredness and self pity fade away as we focus on the things that Jesus cares about, that in the light of all the sorrow and sadness in the world that we will be compelled, both corporately and as individuals, to act, and that we too may say that we are blessed so that we can bless others.

From Corrina:

On The Home Front:

Over an entire week had gone by, filled with many ups and downs and a consistent flow of visitors that kept me company during my at-home recovery. The excruciating pain that I had dreaded, thankfully, was not my companion. Only my mild discomfort has been at my side throughout each day. While my addiction to Facebook (the latest and greatest in the internet world) had kept me up at night, it had not been enough of a distraction to keep me out of the pity party that I was throwing for myself since my surgery on Thursday, April 19. However, Sunday, 10 days after going under the knife, was a different day than the rest. In the warm sunlight and the cool breeze of spring, I sat outside in an attempt to finish a book I had begun the day before. This was not a novel or a fairy tale with a happily-ever-after ending. Even though I knew this collaboration of 12 essays on social justice was not for the faint-of-heart, I was unprepared for the harsh reality of its pages and my unprecedented response.

The book is entitled “The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World.” The previous afternoon, I had read the short forward and the introduction, with which I so deeply resonated. And as I moved from the chapters on clean water, gang violence and women’s rights to the chapters on hunger and HIV/AIDS my heart broke into more and more tiny pieces. The words were becoming blurry, not from the bright sunlight, but from the salty water flowing from both eyes and down the sides of my face. Pages describing real people, real situations, real pain—pain unimaginable to my comfortable, safe and secure life in Canada. As I sat on the lawn chair with my ice tea in one hand and Kleenex in the other, everything in me cried out with intense indignation, “How can I complain about my current situation (or any other situation in which I find myself) when there is so much needless suffering in my world—both here and over there?!”

I closed the book, knowing that I couldn’t read on any further for fear that my heart would just stop beating. I stood up to walk and in that moment God reminded me He has blessed me in order that I would be a blessing to others; my life is not about me. As I read this weekend and recounted my recent first-hand experiences of how “the rest of the world” lives, my burden is growing stronger and I am, now more than ever, compelled to act on behalf of the poor, the suffering, the sick and the marginalized. And the desires, dreams, wishes and wants of my own life, as trivial as they are, are fading away in the light of what God has called me to be and do.

“So how have you been doing since surgery?” you ask. Well, the chance to rest my body and engage in further soul-searching, it’s been life-changing to say the least. I desire to be a voice for those who have no voice; to fight for justice on behalf those who are oppressed; to show mercy and compassion to those in need. For in this expression of my faith in God, I will be evermore renewed in His image.

Prayer Requests:

• Physical healing from surgery
• Motivation to accomplish work from home
• Spiritual renewal in this “slower” time

Thank you for your continued support; I could not do this without you!