Adsense

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

One Word: Color

On Monday, Compassion sent me an email with the inspiration for this week's Blog Month topic. It said to post on one of the following words: Hope, Poverty, Silence, Sacrifice.

After thinking about it for 3 days, not one of those words was opening doors in my mind. I just could not think of something good to write about.

Then today, I overheard somebody near me say to a friend, "I encourage my child not to notice or acknowledge skin color."

And look, I know that this mother is trying to be politically correct and raise her child to be somebody that does not judge somebody based on the color of their skin. But when I thought about her comment of encouraging her child not to notice it, all I could think was, "That's a shame." 

Because...well...I love skin color. Have you ever looked around and noticed how many different skin tones there are? It's amazing! I like to look at skin tones and then think of things in my life that I love that are the same color as that skin tone.

There's skin so dark that my mind wanders to dark chocolate, shots of espresso, and beautifully clear nighttime skies.




There's skin that makes me think of creamy milk chocolate, baking brownies, and making mud pies as a child.







There's the beautiful skin tones that make me think of good things to eat. Things like toffee, pecans, and hazelnuts. 




There are shades that remind me of creamy caramel, brown sugar, and fresh baked banana bread. 







There are skin tones that awaken my senses and make me think of various spices that I use in the kitchen. I'm reminded of cinnamon, ginger, cumin, and curry powder. 







As the color of skin gets lighter, my mind wanders still. I think of peaches and cream on a hot summer day, waving wheat fields, and freshly baked bread right from the oven. 







Then, there is skin so fair, that I can't help but think of things like soft cotton, undyed taffy, white sandy beaches, porcelain dolls, and big fluffy clouds. 








And guess what, you guys?! God has created each and every single one of these skin colors and he has put them on each and every one of his precious children. 

Don't you think that's remarkable? 

His beautiful creations live all of our world and so many of these precious children need your help. For only $38 a month, you can sponsor one of these colorful children. This money provides them with good food, clean water, quality education, healthcare, and teachings about Jesus. Even more importantly, you are able to write these children letters. Tell them how much you love them, tell them they are important, they matter, and that God has created them (and their beautiful skin color) to be unique and perfect.

I want you to visit Compassion International's Page and choose a child to sponsor. You will not regret it for even one second. 

You will see a big array of beautiful colors on that page, ranging from espresso to hazelnut, from caramel to white sand. 

Each created in God's image. Each beautiful and needing love. 

Please make a difference in the life of a child today. 

10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you! I really love how it came out, too.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Thank you, Jill. I have fun writing it and looking up pictures of so many precious children.

      Delete
  3. I have always loved looking at the diversity of skin color/tones in the world, and I wish everyone saw it like you and I do, as beauty, and not as reasons to discriminate or oppress people, as inferior or superior.

    By the way, kind of a random question, but do your Albanian boys live in a restricted area where photo sharing and such is not allowed? I know someone else who sponsors in Albania and says they're restricted, but I'm trying to figure out if the restriction is set by specific communities or the entire country...When I asked World Vision for a list of their restricted countries, neither India nor Sri Lanka were on it, and yet the girls I sponsor in India and Sri Lanka are in restricted communities, so maybe it depends on the specific community?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes, when I'm in my class talking about skin color with my preschoolers, I'm always worried somebody is going to come in and scold me for even talking about it. But, how can I not. My students are 3-4 years old, they notice tiny, small details. If they ask me when their skin is so much darker than somebody else's, can I just ignore that question? I think not. We openly talk about how some people are lighter than others and that's okay, because everyone is beautiful.

      I've never heard of an ADP where photo sharing is not allowed. The only restricted areas I know of are because of religion, and not being able to openly share Christian ideas with them. All 3 of my Albanian boys are restricted that way.

      Delete
    2. Yes, I don't think skin color should be ignored either, but acknowledged and celebrated for it's great variety!

      I sponsor in 3 ADPs (in Sri Lanka, India, and Niger), it's not just the "sensitive area alert" regarding religion, there's also this note beneath their pictures on my account on the World Vision's website: "Per our safety and privacy restrictions, online sharing of this photo is not allowed." Only my ones in the sensitive areas have this, so I thought maybe they were mutually exclusive, guess not!

      Delete
  4. What a great post!! Thanks for sharing...the kids are beautiful!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looking up pictures of the kids was so much fun! You gotta love Google!

      Delete
  5. Look at all those adorable photos!

    ReplyDelete