Grateful for?

Gratefulness like other qualities is in rare display. I was thinking of this while reading an article about a sick man in China who needed special care only found in the cities. He moved closer but struggled to live due to the high cost of living and expensive medical treatments. This is mortgage week for me and the screws have tightened on my budget. I’ve added almost a hundred extra dollars every mortgage bill due to some sloppy accounting. I’ve managed to get through the painful week but something else needs to change because I am tired of repeating this week once a month and dumping off my free spending to an increasingly tight follow up week.

I’ve had a bit of ‘poor me’ attitude until I read this story about the sick man who’s extended family is paying his bills and making cuts in their own budgets, moving in together and selling property. Some have found additional work to help pay the medical bills. Personal health insurance is a rare thing in China, most use savings to buy everything. I think God had me read that piece to show me how blessed I am. I needed it.

 This isn’t a ‘shame-on-you’ article that pours guilt over the reader like a cold bucket of water. I am not asking for money for my favorite charity or asking you to re-think your ‘self-absorbed’ life style. And I am definitely not shilling for animal rescues with sappy piano melodies.  However, observing  a real personal struggle can melt the iciest of hearts and change perspective of anyone fortunate enough to notice. Most of us have sympathy for children in war-ravaged countries and starving villages with no running water or staple foods. How many of us really want to help the local homeless population with a meal or a warm coat, maybe a haircut or shower? Making a commitment to help by doing is challenging but rewarding. It forces us to consider a group rarely considered, to help the helpless. If we take the focus off our own difficulties we lighten our burden and demonstrate grace from the Father.

A thread of ‘if-you’re-homeless-it-must-be-your-fault’ type philosophizing persists among Americans. It is true much of the time but that shouldn’t affect our Christian duty to care for the poor. We have all been spiritually rescued from the “Law of sin and death” how can we ignore those around us who need emotional and physical rescuing? Our challenge is to get involved by giving time and money to a greater cause. The cause of selflessness and service.

I don’t know if homelessness is on the rise or if I just never noticed it before. Interstate underpasses are clogged with makeshift tents while scruffy men lazily hold cardboard signs. One day they were just there for me; the beggars at the gas station and the strung out girls with the dark hollow eyes. Getting involved in local groups that meet the needs of the homeless has started to change my perspective on life, money and happiness. I don’t feel guilty about wealth and I hope to be successful in work and relationships. I appreciate the tenacity and drive success requires and how close we all are to sliding into addiction and loss. I try to be more grateful, every day. I am also more willing to help.