world hunger and my kitchen

Everything we could possibly need

This afternoon I have a strong sense of wonder at how comfortable and convenient my life is.

Here’s what has sparked my thinking. Right now (Saturday afternoon) I’m sitting at the kitchen counter in our air-conditioned home, working at my laptop computer and sipping a glass of wine. I can see the PGA golf championship (Tiger is tanking, by the way) on the large television across the room, and I have two cook-books open in front of me as I work on the menu for dinner this evening. The wine, incidentally, is a gift that our son, Andrew, sent over from Europe earlier this week.

Dinner anytime we want it!

FOOD: The astounding element of this scene is the cookbook part. I have several volumes I reference on a regular basis, featuring literally hundreds of menu items from fancy gourmet meals to more down-to-earth comfort foods.

After I’ve finished deciding, all I have to do is just look in the refrigerator and get to work. If what I want isn’t in the house, then I have no less than six grocery stores to choose from within a two-mile radius. Six! Think about it. Anything I want, any obscure ingredient, and with minimal effort I could fix it this evening.

Obviously, Rebekah and I don’t waste money. But, if I’m honest, I’d have to say I really don’t worry about cost when it comes to food.

And that makes the following facts more startling:

• Hunger is a reality for one in six people living in the United States.
• Worldwide, one billion people are classified as undernourished.

And here I am, with food, shelter, electricity, clean water, and the ability to cook pretty much anything I want for dinner this evening.

SO WHAT? So I’m looking for a word to describe how I feel at this moment. ”Fortunate…?” or “Lucky…?” No, that doesn’t really work. “Blessed…? I do feel blessed, and I’m tempted to say that, but the word almost assumes that I’m favored in some way. Okay, here’s one that works for me, at least in this particular moment. “Responsible….”

You see I’m concerned that it’s too easy – if we’re not careful – to own this sense of entitlement. You know, the “Our country is blessed and so we’re entitled to all this stuff,” point of view.

So good!

Anyway, I’m just thinking out loud, which is what I do a lot in this blog. I’m going to enjoy our supper, there’s nothing wrong with that. But, we simply have to do a better job – each one of us – at figuring out this world hunger thing.

- DEREK