A flick of the page
I became very aware of an attitude of mine that needed addressing early one Saturday
morning when I sat in my driver’s seat and flicked through a few pages of the Saturday
newspaper before driving off. There was an article about half a page in size with
a touching story. Thousands were queued outside a particular church known for her
charity. These people were standing and waiting for hours in 30+ degree heat to collect
food and grocery packages being provided for the poor and struggling in the community.
I know enough about this church that their charity was no surprise to me. What
touched me is that thousands need help like this in the cities of our region e.g.
Ipswich, Logan, and Brisbane. After reading a couple of paragraphs and a quick look
at the accompanying photo I flicked the page to look for the reviews of a particular
movie I was keen to see when it opened in a week. Although I said something and prayed
a couple of sentences in response to what I had seen in the article of charity and
need (even dropping a tear or two), I realised how quick I was to unconsciously flick
the page and forget the article. The front page of the newspaper told me what page
to find the movie review but I had only come across the article on the needs of the
poor in my city by accident. I suppose poverty and charity don’t sell newspapers
as well as extra-
