- The Record Archives
- Volume CXVIII, No. XXI - November 17, 2005 - opinion
30-hour famine puts everything in perspective
Guest columnist
I often spend my Sunday mornings surrounded by friends talking and laughing about what fun we had Friday and Saturday nights.
This past Sunday though, these stories weren't so funny. I spent this last weekend fasting, going without food for 30 hours.
I didn't sleep in my own bed as usual, but outside, as if I were actually homeless, my warmth found only from one blanket.
The week before the 30 Hour Famine retreat, which was through through SJU Campus Ministry was spent hurrying to and from classes, meetings, and dinner with friends.
I didn't even stop to think at all about how I would be spending my weekend in inner-city Minneapolis while fasting.
I was too concerned with the here and now, surrounded by all the worries of classes.
One unforgettable experience of the weekend was when I met Herb, a Native American man suffering from a hand injury and mental illness, along with severe addiction.
After talking to him about his family and sick brother, he shockingly looked at me with pain in his eyes, and asked to me pray for him.
Speechless, I was somehow given the confidence to gently lay my hand on his shoulder and whisper a prayer.
I spoke words of hope and thanksgiving to God for allowing me to meet this honest and gentle man who so needed someone to love him and give him reason to believe that he was still a man of dignity.
As I opened my eyes, they filled with tears, but there were also tears in Herb's eyes. Herb leaned over and he gave me a hug. It strangely felt as if I had known this man for several years.
Instead of spending a normal Sunday afternoon doing homework, I couldn't stop thinking about being homeless and all the people who I hope to never forget.
It feels awkward as I look in my closet for clothes to wear, remembering the work we did organizing clothing to give to those who had only what they were wearing.
After being part of a group that called 911 after a man was attacked with a brick, and gathering around him singing and praying, I take time to appreciate the medical insurance I take for granted.
This man didn't want to go the hospital because of how much it would cost him even though he was seriously injured.
Through this experience, I not only learned how hard it is to go 30 hours without eating, but I also bonded with a group of amazing CSB/SJU students.
We now share this bond of having our eyes opened to the cruelty and hardships this world faces today.
Many of us were not able to go on this retreat because of too many things we needed to do.
But I ask you to take a moment and think about how truly blessed we are, and how rarely do we, now in college, take any time to volunteer because we don't have "enough time."
How rare is it for us to make a donation because we don't have "enough money."
I beg of you to simply ask yourself about how much stuff you really have to do, and whether or not could take some time to give back to your community.
Our life is actually pretty worry-free.
This is the opinion of Melissa Hund, a sophomore theology major at CSB. Contact her at mrhund@csbsju.edu.