So now when I see tons of money being spent on goody bags for parties for the attendees that are more extravagant than what most children in the world would ever see in all of their birthdays combined, birthday parties for dogs, paying obscene amounts for one article of clothing, living day in and day out consumed by the state of decor of our home, and so many other excessive things it causes my stomach to churn.
While we buy these things, spend countless hours on meaningless projects and activities (to the point it consumes our days) there are others who are spending their waking hours wondering how in the world they are going to have food today and where work for tomorrow will come. I often wonder if the Lord is pleased with the things that fill our day, the things that take up all of our time because we participate in excess. Isn't that the reality of the situation? Has North America not just become a big ole continent of excess? Excessive eating out, excessive wasting of food, excessive multi-billion dollar Christmas industry that is focused on ME ME ME? Not just one extra curricular thing but so busy with all the activities we cannot even get the things done that the Lord has shown us to do. We don't have time or money for anything except everything for me.
There are things that are SO real! They are real people with real struggles of mere survival who are working so hard to just feed their family and make it through the day. They are not lazy. And while they are doing everything they can to survive and physically work harder than you can imagine just to buy food, others are living in EXCESS. The point of excess that you no longer have room in your 1800 sq ft home for all your stuff, it has invaded your garage. You have no more room for toys because there are so many that they don't even fit in the closets. Now a room in the house has been converted just for the toys and playing. So much food in the house that at the end of the week you are cleaning out the fridge with the things that have gone bad because they just never gotten eaten. Every weekend has been consumed with shopping trips and projects.
Here are some real life happenings. I ask you to think about these people and try and truly imagine their hardships.
1) A women with 4 children all alone because her husband was so abusive that his very own children turned
him in. This woman has been looking for months for work, with none to be found. A friend of hers, who
is also living in poverty, lets her work with her some to try and help her out. This woman receives
$100 a month from the government since her husband is in prison. This barely pays for her rent and a
bit of food. The other day there was no food in their house and had not been in days. The kids receive 1
meal at school (rice and beans, I am sure). While these children do have clothes on their back, they are
outgrown, boys having to wear girl pants (because he has none that fit), pants unable to be buttoned
because they are far to small.
2) A family of 6 where the leader of that home has been unable to work for 3 months due to a medical
issue. And this is socialized medicine here, so unless you are dying, it takes a long time to get anything
done. There are 4 children in this home. And, again, a family who at the end of the day has nothing in
in the house to eat. While 3 children do get 1 meal at school, there are still mom and dad and a small
child who have had nothing that day. When you give them the 3 granola bars from your backpack and
there is not a trace of sugar left on the wrapper, you truly see the hunger they have been experiencing.
3) A family of 7 struggling to survive all while trying to scrape pennies to get all their paperwork together to
continue to stay in this country legally. Because in a few short weeks they cannot work if these things are
not done. They will no longer be able to send their children to school, they will not be able to receive
medical care (and one of the children has a very serious illness).
4) A man living away from his family for almost 2 years so he could have money to send them. His job is
to guard a bank-owned home. He lives in this home with no furniture but a table, one chair, and a bed.
The bank will not even pay for him to have electricity. A neighbor runs an electric cord so that he can
run one light bulb at night. He is only allowed to leave for a few hours once a week. He never sees
anyone. This man makes $400 a month to support his family that lives in another country, that he has not
seen in almost two years. He does this so his family can survive. Because where he comes from,
if he stayed, they could not be surviving. He loves his family and misses them and wants to go home, but
to do that would mean no food.
Where did the basics go with just a little bit of comfort? How did we get so far from living with a little comfort to seriously suffocating in the goose-down feather linens? How did everything become all about me?
Think about this reality...
WHAT IF we got rid of the extreme excess? What could we then do? What if we left the job that consumes our life and family (you know the one that keeps us from being about the Lord's work)? What if we didn't buy so much stuff at Christmas and birthdays that cause us to clean out the house to make room for MORE? What if we didn't spend all our time working on all those Pinterest-Inspired projects? Maybe if we let go of the extreme excess then we can have "less of self, and more of thee."
(the pictures in this post are random and were actually taken back in March while we were visiting)
No comments :
Post a Comment