having it all...???
Having it all. Who doesn't want that? But what is considered "all?" For a poor person, maybe it's just having a decent house, enough food and a reliable vehicle to get to a good paying job. For the wealthy, it means more; a vacation to an exotic place, a luxury vehicle, maybe a house with more rooms or space than is needed just to "keep up with the Joneses." Of course, their is plenty of food in the frig and a night out is not unheard of. There are jewelry boxes full of expensive rings, designer clothes in the closet(s) and a job that probably keeps them all living as well as they can.
Having it all.
What is required to be able to do that? I once worked three and four jobs per day...just to keep up with normal bills. I had just divorced and was NOT going to live on welfare. Yet I was tired all the time, cranky too and my kids pretty muich fended for themselves. Although they were all teens, they still needed a mom and mom just wasn't there.
So, did I "have it all?"
No, not if it meant being absent.
Today's economy is such that you either "have" it...or you don't. The fine line is slowly disintegrating to the point where the poor are working harder than ever to just stay alive and the rich are reaping the rewards off the backs of the blue collar workers who put them there.
My husband once said he thought it would be cool to have a Lambourghini. I smiled in disdain and replied, "what's the difference between a Lamborghini and a Ford Taurus? They both have four wheels and an engine!" I am sure the looks of envy would be cool--for awhile. But the cost of having it, from insurance to worry about theft or damage would negate the feeling of "wow, look at what I have!"
With age comes wisdom. I have NOT felt left out because I never had designer clothes (too poor as a kid, I wore hand me downs), or driven a brand new car. I live simply and at my age, am enjoying the fact that my adult kids are close by (ok, they live at home!) and that I can help them out when needed. (but let's not make a habit out of this, kids!!! Grrrrrrr) But I worry, too. They are trying so hard to be adults, yet the economy is getting so bad that they couldn't afford to live on their own unless they won a lottery or found a rich acquaintance.
I think to what Jesus said. There were poor people in His time also. He always admonished that the poor you will have with you always...to give when you saw need, to show mercy and do good works to others.
So with that, I leave you with a story. I hope that it moves you, as it did me:
One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.
He said, ‘I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: ‘You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.’
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”
There is an old saying What goes around comes around. Pass this on, let the light shine.
Author unknown.
Having it all.
What is required to be able to do that? I once worked three and four jobs per day...just to keep up with normal bills. I had just divorced and was NOT going to live on welfare. Yet I was tired all the time, cranky too and my kids pretty muich fended for themselves. Although they were all teens, they still needed a mom and mom just wasn't there.
So, did I "have it all?"
No, not if it meant being absent.
Today's economy is such that you either "have" it...or you don't. The fine line is slowly disintegrating to the point where the poor are working harder than ever to just stay alive and the rich are reaping the rewards off the backs of the blue collar workers who put them there.
My husband once said he thought it would be cool to have a Lambourghini. I smiled in disdain and replied, "what's the difference between a Lamborghini and a Ford Taurus? They both have four wheels and an engine!" I am sure the looks of envy would be cool--for awhile. But the cost of having it, from insurance to worry about theft or damage would negate the feeling of "wow, look at what I have!"
With age comes wisdom. I have NOT felt left out because I never had designer clothes (too poor as a kid, I wore hand me downs), or driven a brand new car. I live simply and at my age, am enjoying the fact that my adult kids are close by (ok, they live at home!) and that I can help them out when needed. (but let's not make a habit out of this, kids!!! Grrrrrrr) But I worry, too. They are trying so hard to be adults, yet the economy is getting so bad that they couldn't afford to live on their own unless they won a lottery or found a rich acquaintance.
I think to what Jesus said. There were poor people in His time also. He always admonished that the poor you will have with you always...to give when you saw need, to show mercy and do good works to others.
So with that, I leave you with a story. I hope that it moves you, as it did me:
One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.
He said, ‘I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: ‘You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.’
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”
There is an old saying What goes around comes around. Pass this on, let the light shine.
Author unknown.
I think back to the Fifties, when life appeared so good, thanks to TV and the fact we had just survived a major war. Now...all is uncertain...and yet...there ARE good people who DO look after us. Thank God for them. Thank you for the story...you made my day!
ReplyDeletelook at it from this angle also: having it all. Eve wanted it all also. She could have had anything she wanted.... But rather than being thankful, she bought the lie that the one thing she couldn’t have was the one thing that would make her happy. "I would be happy if…" Is any of this sounding familiar to you? It should. Satan uses the same tactics with us that he used with Eve. Ingratitude is the infection of Eden, and it is cured with praise.
ReplyDeleteAsk yourselves this: When was the last time you said or thought, “I would be happy if…”?
What does that thought imply?
Where does true joy come from?
those who want it all are usually cursed by that decision. As you said, the more you have, the more you think you need and the more time is spent caring for it, protecting it...it would wear me out. Simplicity. Is that so bad?
ReplyDelete