So tonight Becca and I went to the seminary to watch the Zambian Orphan Choir of World Hope International perform. I gotta say, those kids were amazing. They have so much talent and it was refreshing to see them use it for God’s glory.

One of the songs the orphans sang had to do with the immense struggles they have gone through, and how God has used these struggles to help make them strong. It was a wonderful song with a powerful message. It just caused me to pause and reflect on my own attitude sometimes. It can be so easy to grumble and complain about the things in our lives, and we act like such victims when things don’t always go exactly our way. But most of our supposed “trials” are really nothing more than inconveniences, especially when compared to what these children come from. They are orphans coming from absolute poverty and hopelessness. Their country is being devastated by disease; each of those children will be blessed just to live to be 30 or 40 years old. Read this quote from the choir’s homepage:

Two live with grandparents. One child did not know until she was 10 that the people with whom she lived were not her real parents. Another’s caretaker warned him that he had better appreciate a place to live, although many times he was beaten, forced to do labor or to go without food. Some do not remember ever seeing their parent(s).

At one point, before singing a moving song about how God knows our name, the choir director told a story of one orphan who kept repeatedly asking a visiting missionary to recall the orphan’s name. The orphan was fascinated because no one had ever taken the time to remember who he was. Until that moment, this orphan had meant nothing to anyone.

So I would ask you: Think twice the next time you feel tempted to complain over trivial things. It really could be a whole lot worse. Instead, try letting God use those opportunities to make you more like Him