麻豆约拍

Good morning.

Ramadan, the month of fasting, is over. Muslims, the world over, are celebrating Eid.
This year I found the fasts incredibly hard. They were the longest in 33 years. There were days when I did not think I was going to be able to cope. Days when doing the mere basics of life seemed too much. Days when I was left depleted and exhausted.

It may seem strange that I carried on with fasting, but I did so firstly because I believe it is an obligation of my faith; and secondly because I knew that this period of difficulty was temporary. Every evening my table had food on it, and every day I knew the discomfort that I was facing was limited to 30 days.

The same cannot be said for hundreds of millions of people the world over. They face hunger through the day, and through the night, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.

I cannot imagine how they find the resilience to cope. I cannot imagine how they get through each and every day when they are fatigued by lack of adequate nutrition. I do not know how they can get their brains to be strong and creative when cognition is depleted by insufficient food. I cannot fathom how they find the will, the strength, and the sense of purpose to keep pushing through when they do not know that their situation will end.聽Hunger is their normal. Exhaustion is their normal.

Dear Lord, grant this world an equitable distribution of resources. Alleviate the pain and suffering caused by injustice. Let us be grateful for all that we have, and give us the strength and openness to be generous to those less fortunate that ourselves. Ameen.