“We’re all stuck. Everything has shut down, and most of us are going to be spending many weeks, maybe months in our homes — feeling restless and worried, annoyed, and even angry. We’re all giving up a lot, and it’s frustrating having our lives come to a screeching halt, I know. It’s also something that must be done. We all get how critical our social distancing is to the health of our states, our nation, our world.
My daughter was emergently rushed back into the states from El Salvador, where she was on a mission trip to serve families in need. Their group built new beds and delivered them to people who have never had a bed before in their lives. The medical team offered care to those who never get to see a doctor. They gave new shoes to kids who never had a new pair to wear.
And as she was showing me all her pictures and telling me all about her trip, it occurred to me how much we all have right where we are — stuck and restless, wanting more.
And I was convicted.
We are so consumed by our limitations; we forget the abundance that surrounds us within the parameters of our comfortable homes. We have AC and heating, running water, and beds. We have electronics, Netflix, video games, and TVs the size of entire walls. And oh yeah, we have those too. Walls. We also have flooring and carpet, bathrooms and bedrooms, and even storage for all of our extra stuff. We have refrigerators, freezers, and pantries stocked with food and for many, enough toilet paper for the year. Oh, and actual toilets that flush. Not only do we have everything we need, but most of us have pretty much everything we could ever want too.
Just look at that home, where a young girl lives with her grandparents. THIS is where they live. The child’s mother died and father disappeared, so her grandparents take care of her there. They scrounge for enough money to buy her drinking water so she won’t get sick. I’m betting they don’t have a TV or fridge, a pantry full of food, or a working toilet.
This precious 12-year-old boy is lying on his first newly built and painted bed, made just for him. Do you see where he lives? Do you see any other commodities? And yet, he is SO grateful for that bed, and the beautiful quilt and pillow too. Again, I don’t see any walls or pantries, TVs or AC units. I only see a dirt floor and a bright bed. THIS is his home. I can’t help but wonder what happens during the rainy season, can you?
So yes, we’re all going to be stuck at home for a while, and it will be hard. But maybe while we’re stuck in our places, we can take a good hard look around and see all we have. These commodities are BLESSINGS we sometimes forget to actually count. During all of our free time, being bored and restless, may I suggest we count them all? Heck, just go in your closets and count your shoes to start. Those boys are THRILLED to have theirs.
Walk around your home and acknowledge every single item you have been gifted with, because you are living in luxury while much of the world is stuck in a whole different place.
Enjoy your homes and the extravagance you hold within your own walls. Embrace your comforts as if they were new and not just the same ol’ couch or kitchen, computer or TV, fridge or oven, heat or AC. And I will too.
Because there are precious people who were ecstatic about getting their first beds, in homes that have none of what we have, and never will.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Christine Carter of the TheMomCafe. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
Read more stories like this:
Do you know someone who could benefit from reading this? SHARE this story on Facebook with family and friends.