I live in a very poor neighbourhood in Southeast Asia. Some would call it a slum due to the lack of plumbing, and the excessive amount of garbage that lays in piles, usually smouldering. It is also considered the poorest, least desirable neighbourhood in our city, according to local government officials. I live here with my husband, baby and three-year-old son. I am a Canadian.
In this blog, I hope to share some thoughts and experiences of living in this poor neighbourhood. Not because living in a poor neighbourhood is in itself unique: two billion humans currently live in very poor neighbourhoods, and mine may be in the top tier of these two billion (1). But as a Canadian mother of means, I feel my experiences might help provide a window into the world of the poor, especially for those who are not able to interact with the world’s poor on a daily basis, as we have the privilege to do. The window’s glass will be hazy, sometimes the reflections seen disputable, and nothing said will be profound. As King Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”
This is why the title of my blog is ‘days like grass’. The poet David wrote:
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field
for the wind passes over it,
and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
Despite my fleeting life, I still have value. David continues:
But the steadfast love of the Lord
is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him.
So as a blade of grass, held by my Father, guided by Jesus' Spirit, I try (and often fail), to love my neighbour. Then I might write about it here sometimes.
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(1) The bottom two billion live on USD 2.50 or less per day (http://blogs.worldbank.org/youthink/bottom-pyramid-bop-solutions-bottom-two-billion)
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(1) The bottom two billion live on USD 2.50 or less per day (http://blogs.worldbank.org/youthink/bottom-pyramid-bop-solutions-bottom-two-billion)
