Blessed indeed.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Do What You Can
Every now and again, in spite of my knowledge that it was our choice to live on one modest income and it was our choice to have three children, I get a little down on not having some of the finer things in life. Well, finer for me anyway. Things like having functioning windows or carpet, furniture that isn't hand-me-down and getting pretty beat up, and maybe being able to organize and arrange my house in a way that is more efficient and comfortable for us all. But that's just it, it's all about efficiency and comfort and desire, not need. We don't NEED anything. We can eat our fill, we have a roof over our heads and clean water to drink. We have plenty of clothes. We have heat in the winter. We are taken care of and, certainly, blessed in SO many ways. It seems, whenever I start to get this way, God sends some gentle reminders my way of truly how blessed I really am. Lately, they are coming from many directions. Church for one, where we are beginning to study this book and the blogging community where I have been reading about this group's vitamin project in Africa: here and here. And just like that, my dream for an upstairs laundry room or carpet seems sort of trivial. So I'm going out this week to buy vitamins, because the problem is big and you can only do what you can do. But I can buy vitamins. Even with my crummy windows and shabby furniture and a hole still in my kitchen ceiling. I can buy vitamins.
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5 comments:
I am so with you on this. Found myself feeling sorry this week for what I can't afford to fix or have right now. Those "gentle reminders" always leave me feeling uncomfortable when I think of how other people even in my own community have to live.
Right on. From one shabby-furnitured, hand-me-down-wearer to another: you can't buy peace, love, or happiness. It might also help to use the mantra my dad (a lawyer who, out of a sense of justice and community, worked for free and for trades for over a decade of my childhood) always said around our house: "If only we'd been born rich instead of beautiful." ;-)
Okay, it is just bizarre that I read this today. As you know, finances have been on my mind quite a bit lately, and I too, get depressed thinking of what I CAN'T buy (a birthday present for my husband). But, I sat down to read today and one sentence grabbed a hold of my heart and took my breath away. "Keep cultivating gratitude". Simple, but for me, today, profound. I'm gonna buy some vitamins. Thanks for this post.
I could tell you a long story that would relate to this but I have to take the dog to the vet. I'm going to ask my husband if he wants to read that book. He's been on a long journey. Let's say, his losses led to an understanding of true blessing which was a blessing to his family. And you are right. Each of us has blessings, no matter how humble and I think realizing this leads us to recognize the need in others : )
I hear ya loud and clear. Ditto.
Nicola
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