Mar
04
2016
0

The bittersweetness of life

Compassion UKSometimes life feels bittersweet. Like things have happened that really shouldn’t have happened and now we are all living with the consequences.

Tonight I am going out to a formal event with my Dad and sister in aid of the charity Tumaini. I have a nice dress and shoes but realised I didn’t have any bags so I was in the loft rifling away when I found some of Mum’s smart handbags. Even now when I sit and hold them I can remember what she was wearing when she was carrying them. I think of her smiling and laughing and wearing make-up when she didn’t very often. I sat in the loft and had a little cry, before pulling myself together to get on with it!

When I came down the ladder I noticed that the postman had been and this was one of the letters that had been delivered. It was from Compassion UK, providing an update on two of the projects in which we sponsor children. We have a sponsor child in Burkina Faso called Wendlassida and there was a paragraph in this letter that caught me by surprise.

“Recently, our centre received Compaasion Complementary Intervention funds which we used to build two classrooms where children can be taught in good conditions Before we got these classrooms, we used to teach them under sheds, and out meetings with parents were under trees. We were very exposed to different calamities such as dust and whirlwinds. Now children, their parents, the centre’s staff and church members are very happy and praise Gpd for these new classrooms. So these buildings show us the importance of the relationships that exist between our children and their sponsors.”

Mum's legacyMoments before reading this my thoughts of Mum were sad and I miss her so very much. This letter made me smile so much. She would have been so delighted that the money that we raised, as a testament to her life had gone to such a worthy cause. She would have been so, so happy that children were able to learn in good facilities and that all our sponsor children have opportunities afforded to them that they did not before.

As I approach Mothering Sunday I will choose to celebrate all these good things. I choose to remember the smile on her face and I will choose to give thanks for all she did in her life, and has done in her death.

These are the faces I think of today when I think of Mum. The three children sponsored by myself, my sister and my Dad. Wendlassida, Ezekial and Amelie.

Written by Anna Williams in: Compassion,Mum | Tags: , ,

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