He never promised us a rose garden.....

As a mother of 7, many a time when going through all the joys and tears of motherhood,  I would repeat and sing to myself “He never promised me a rose garden”…

 But I think He did. You have to go through the thorns and get pricked by them before you can enjoy the roses!!

Now , being away from home for  seven  months and looking back at all we have lived in these months the same phrase came to my mind. “He never promised us a rose garden”.

Life has been bearable because Hernan and I are here together, many a time I have thought I would have asked for a reassignment or gone home a long time ago if it wasn’t because we have each other.

The violence in Honduras is so patent and I simply refuse to get used to it.

How can this situation be changed? 

 I hear that question at least once a week from someone.

 I don’t have answers, I only know that we meet beautiful people who live in fear, grateful people who shower you with hugs because they appreciate so much what you are doing and who almost constantly wonder why we are here.

 Beautiful children who act like every other child in the world but who will have to acquire a resiliency to be able to survive in a country ruled by “maras”(gangs) and “cicarios”(drug lords). I see them and I see our children and grandchildren in them, children playing, smiling and hoping.

I just pray that somehow something will happen so that God will shed His light on this country and these children can grow up in love and peace.

A week ago a photo appeared on the newspaper , children in a school sitting on the floor of their “classroom” because there were no desks  for that school! (And this is not an isolated  case!) There was a ray of hope when the next day there was an article about a financial institution and a private enterprise  that had donated some desks to two schools.

Maybe there is hope, maybe there is a rainbow in the horizon. Maybe….