Cold Hard Reality

Earlier this week, Esther and I had the privilege of being invited to the house of a friend who has a considerable more cushy job than us. The evening was relaxed, we had grilled cheese, soup, and salad for dinner. We met a few people we had never previously met and ended up playing games until almost 11pm. Given that this friend was on the other side of town and I had to work in the morning I was thinking about my safety in getting back to my side of town and how I was going to feel at work in the morning. Little did I know as I stepped into the brisk chill of the night, I was going to get a reality check that night. I say the brisk chill because we are right in the middle of a cold snap in Bangladesh this week. I have to wear a fleece jacket and scarf at my desk while I work in the morning these days. Well on this particular night it was cold enough that I was even wearing my Carhartt sock cap which comes in handy when you add windchill while riding public transportation. I managed to find a local bus near his house which was a wonderful thing since local busses in my opinion are the safest mode of transport in the city. After getting this to one bus stand and switching to another bus, I finally arrived at the stop near my house. I got off and started walking the last quarter mile or so of my journey. That is when it hit me like a ton of bricks, there was a dozen or so people in dirty, tattered clothes sleeping on the sidewalk. If I was cold in my nice jacket, scarf, and sock cap...I can't imagine what they were under their thin blankets sleeping on cold cement. It flew right in the face of my association of Christmas with joyful times. It got me to think and made me want to do something. Like most people, I'm not sure exactly of what I should do but I know I'm not disappointed to have been reminded of the cold hard reality of life at times. It is something we can all use a good dose of occasionally.