A prayer to answer compassionate calls by Meg Booker, read by Liam Arden.

The heart is free where the Spirit of the Lord is, 2 Corinthians 3-17.

My daughter and I curled up on the couch, both of us leveled with influenza A.

As we sat in colored pictures and fought aches and coughs, we watched a movie about a little

girl in another country that found herself in an unfair state of affairs.

I don't want to watch this movie, Mommy, she said, making me uncomfortable.

The movie was Queen of Cotway about a young girl who made history as a chess player in Uganda.

Her life was anything but glamorous, and the reality of her reality made my daughter uncomfortable.

It's important to be aware, I explained to her.

When the unfair circumstances of others make us uncomfortable, I believe that's the

seed of Christ's compassionate heart, nudging us to do something about it.

There was one scene in particular that completely confused my church-going child.

She knows about hunger, donates to help those in need, and raised her hand to sponsor a child,

but until that moment it was still so very far away from her.

Why is she licking the side of that cup she asked?

She's starving, I answered.

The following night's dinner protest at our kitchen table carried a completely different

tone.

God pushes us out of our comfort zone to do some major work on our hearts.

He can meet us with influenza A on the couch in our comfortable family room, to teach us

a lesson in compassion and gratefulness.

And art duty to take care of each other on this earth.

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