Cake or Crumbs?

A couple nights ago, the house parents from the Children's Home invited us over for asado. This is the name for delicious ribs grilled over charcoal, with a tremendous flavor. We gladly accepted and enjoyed the opportunity to hang out with the kids in their home. It always amazes me to be there and see THAT MANY children (19 in all, ranging from ages 4-15) functioning as a family. They are polite at the table, they set the places and clean up afterwards, and the older ones help the younger ones cut their meat and pour their drinks. And I thank God each time for the healthy meals these kids are privileged to eat. Many in this country are quite malnourished, and most of these kids themselves were going hungry before coming here.

The picture below shows Angel, whose birthday happened to fall the same day as the asado. The house mom, Maria, is a phenomenal cook and always prepares a homemade cake for the birthday boy/girl. That child gets a particularly large piece, and everyone else is served a normal portion. I snapped this picture because it made me think of human nature. Angel has his plate right in front of him, with at least four times as much cake as everyone else had, yet he's pushed it to the side to scrape the crumbs off the empty pan. How often do we do that with the life God's handed us? He offers us a ridiculously spectacular life, and we push it aside because the crumbs on the empty plate seem more appealing. The world somehow draws us away from a "sure thing" to the measly leftovers it has to offer. Help me to eat that big slice of your homemade cake, Lord.
(Don't click below...)