Hollow inside

That's the best way to describe how I feel right now.

I know I said I'm keeping this blog for photography, and I mean that, but sometimes I feel the need to express myself in words only.

Today is one of those days.

I just returned from an assignment inside the home of a woman who has had NO HEAT FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. Stop for a minute and imagine that ... To have to rely on dangerous space heaters and your COOKING STOVE to keep yourself and your family warm.

On a positive note, this story I'm working on is about a group of students from Ivy Tech who are installing ductwork and a furnance for this woman. "An answer to a prayer," Marcia told me of the men who bustled around the cramped confines of her decrepit home this morning.

It is moments like this that stop me in my tracks. That remind me of how much I take for granted in my life. How, as much as I think I'm doing my part (tithing at church, giving food to a local mission), I am disconnected to this gorilla in the room we call poverty. And how easy it is for us all to pretend people like this ... well, we know they're out there, but "out of sight, out of mind" is all too easy to adhere to, right?

I am happy for Marcia, who is getting a Christmas present this year beyond the realm of anything I'll be asking for or need. And I am humbled to think I've been given so much in my own life that my prayers ... yeah, they've gotten nothing on Marcia's.