My wife and I recently watched a movie entitled “The Good Lie.”  It was about children of South Sudan displaced by civil unrest.  In an opening scene, rebel soldiers attacked a Sudanese village, slaughtering all but a handful of young children.  These surviving young children began a barefoot journey from Sudan towards Ethiopia.  Over 550 miles into their trek, they had to change course and head towards Kenya because the civil war had reportedly spread to Ethiopia.  Over a trip that exceeded 750 miles, these young children encountered many challenges and much adversity, the likes of which most of us would never encounter in a lifetime.  They lost friends and watched loved ones die.  And, through it all, they never lost hope.  They didn’t allow their attitudes to be affected by their circumstances.  They supported each other and repeatedly reminded themselves that they wanted to live.  After subsisting in a refugee camp in Kenya for thirteen years, four refugees were given asylum in the United States.  Though they received little (for aid for airfare and accommodations), they purportedly had to repay any moneys that were expended on them.  Wow!  We all encounter stuff, some of us more than others, and some stuff far more impactful than other stuff.  But again, wow!  Few of us can profess to go through anything like these refugees.  We watched this on the evening that marked our daughter’s second birthday, a daughter whom we lost two years ago, only four days before her due date.  And while we rightfully should grieve her loss, this movie sent a message to us that so many more whom are less fortunate than we are subject to such tragedy, and they humble themselves to the Lord.  Their attitudes are remarkable.  How is your attitude?

To learn more about the children of Sudan, visit United Nations High Commission for Refugees.