never enough

I'm only one. But still, I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
- Edward Everett Hale

It took me several tries to watch this video completely, through so many tears. Thank you, Christine, for this reminder.

Standing in the doorway of our playroom, looking at the mess of new toys that a few days ago sat wrapped beneath a tree, my heart cannot help but ache with guilt, with sorrow. Somehow adopting Andjela, bringing her into the circle of our family, seems like an afterthought, a penny tossed into a bottomless bucket that could never be filled. I know she is meant to be with us, but I cannot help but ask myself - Are we doing enough? Are we giving enough?

At a time when our country feels faced with uncertainty, with turmoil - jobs lost, mortgages foreclosed, bankruptcies filed - we must remember the ones who are truly needy in this world, the ones who wait endlessly for a helping hand. The rational part of me tells me it is silly to give all, for everyone to give all - if we stopped buying Christmas presents the entire retail sector of the U.S. would fall apart, hundreds of thousands of people would lose their jobs and be plunged into the very poverty that brings me tears.

But somehow, we must find a balance. We must examine our own lives and make sure we are doing. Enough.

And the next time you find yourself lost in the stress and sadness of daily struggles, think of these little ones. Pretend for a moment that they are your own children. Because really, they are. You know them. They belong to you. Never fail to do what you can for them. They need you. We all need to make sure we are giving enough... of our pockets, our voices, our hearts.
Because if we don't stand up for these little ones, who will?