No matter where you live in the world, there’s always something special about coming home. In this guest post from home and organization blogger Abby Lawson, she shares what she learned about the meaning of a thriving home while visiting Ecuador and experiencing World Vision’s new invitation to child sponsorship, Chosen.
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I have always agreed with the sentiment, “There’s no place like home.” There’s something about coming in the door and being surrounded by your loved ones in a thriving home where you feel welcome and loved, where you can be completely yourself.
As a blogger who writes about organization and home decor, I am fortunate my love of home extends to my work. I have the joy of helping people create a thriving home that they and their families truly adore spending time in. (Which has seemed all the more important as shelter-in-place orders and physical distancing have had many of us spending more time at home than ever before.)
And even though before-and-after room transformations and pretty pictures are fun, creating a home you love isn’t about the “stuff.” It’s about creating a welcoming safe space where everyone who enters feels the joy of being in community with those they love, a backdrop for years of fond memories.
Never was this more clear to me than last fall, when I had the privilege of being welcomed into the homes of a few families that World Vision is partnering with in Ecuador.
I sat in the home of Diana and her two adorable children, Lupita and Karey. As Diana showed us how to prepare a delicious meal, she told our group how World Vision had given her the education and resources to learn to make healthy, balanced meals that would help her children thrive.
Diana had created a garden in her yard where she could grow her own herbs and vegetables to use to nourish everyone in her home.
With the help of World Vision, she also set up a sweet shop on the lower level of her house where she and other family members make and sell baked goods to help support their household.
Diana, her children, and her parents, who also lived with them, were able to create a more thriving home because of World Vision’s work — something that will not only benefit them but also their community and their other family members, hopefully for generations to come.
On that same Ecuador trip, we were also welcomed into the home of Angela and her family. They were excited to tell us about how school supplies and provisions from World Vision helped improve Angela’s ability to learn and excel at school and how they had been a blessing to the rest of their family as well.
I felt so honored to get to know this family, and it was amazing to see the positive impact World Vision was making on their home and on so many others like it.
Later in the week, we saw Angela and her family again as we attended one of World Vision’s first choosing parties, where Angela and several other children had the opportunity to choose their sponsor.
It was so incredible to witness the smiles and excitement on each child’s face as they walked out of the room with the photo of the person or family they had chosen to sponsor them. (Including Lady, who chose our family as her sponsor!)
The children had the opportunity to write their new sponsor a letter, explaining why they had chosen them and introducing themselves, to start a relationship that will be a blessing to both the sponsor and the child for years to come.
I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to see the fruits of World Vision’s work in action. Their impact is truly amazing. Allowing a child to choose you as their sponsor not only positively affects their life, but it also helps create thriving homes and communities for generations into the future.
You can make a difference when you sign up to be chosen. World Vision’s new invitation to child sponsorship, Chosen, empowers children by providing them with the opportunity to choose their sponsor. It can change the trajectory of their life and the lives of their families and communities for the better.
Will you be a part of helping to create thriving homes around the world? Sign up to be chosen today.
Abby Lawson blogs about home, organizing, and decorating at justagirlandherblog.com.
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