Poverty

"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry,

naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."

Mother Teresa

The front page of our local paper has an article on the growing need for help among the working poor in our county. Unfortunately I think this will be received as new information to a lot of people. Unfortunately it is not new information and the numbers are growing. Unfortunately money to help them is also running out. It is running out of the county budget and it is running out at the non-profits who are the second line of defense and some times the first.

Being poor is very new for a lot of people. How do you learn to be poor and ask for help? How do you maintain your dignity and respect while you are desperate to keep your heat on and feed your children? Who do you call? When do you call? How do you even make that first call? How do you humble your life into an open book that is poked and prodded by strangers and paper forms that declare whether you are "poor enough" to receive assistance?

I have a friend who is working poor and on the verge of being homeless. My friend has children and is working two jobs to support the family. There is no family network of help to sustain them. My friend is reliant on the kindness of strangers - or as we have spoken - open hands to receive the grace of God. My friend is very aware of the blessings in their life and that the company of angels that surrounds and protects them and leads them to the next safe haven each time crisis beckons at the door. My friend also works very hard, to the point of physical and mental exhaustion. And yet the economics of the situation are not getting better. God forbid one of the children gets sick, they have no health care and the cost of even finding out what the illness is can be detrimental. Not to mention time off of work for care giving.

My friend has gotten some assistance or helping hands - normally at Christmas when there just is no money for presents or food. There is something about the fierce protection of our children and their reality and feeling of worth that enables parents to fill out forms that have the potential to crush their spirit. There are not many programs available that do not probe all of your finances and ask you many personal questions. From the institution aspect it is understandable. There are limited resources and many people in need of those funds, good stewardship is essential.

From a human stance, from a Christ within us stance, we fall to our knees asking God to preserve and protect His children. I would gather to say there are people in your life that are struggling and scared and they do not know how to ask for help without feeling shame or judged. I wonder if the next time you see a child who is struggling- instead of wondering "What is wrong with this kid's parents, what a horrible job they are doing with this kid"; wonder "Where is this child's parent? Did they have to be at work before school even begins? Did they cry on their way to a job as they prayed that their child would be safe and cared for? Did they pray in thanksgiving that their child would be given breakfast and lunch at school as they knew there was no hope for dinner this evening because the heat bill is due and there isn't quite enough, will they be able to get overtime? Can they leave their child for yet another evening, with yet another friend, pretending it is a playdate so no one knows their circumstance?" or ponder another possibility "is the child's one parent running late to work because their spouse is terminally ill and fell trying to get from the bed to the bathroom without asking for help because they did not want to be a burden, knowing their medical bills were such that the family is falling deeper and deeper into debt and chaos as they lay dying and have no possibility of helping and feel ever more a burden even as their body betrays them and gives out."

As individuals we can not help everyone all the time. We can't know every story behind every life. We can not control the outcome of our own day, much less someone else's life, this is the burden that God alone carries. What we can do is empty ourselves to allow God into our lives so that we might live a life free of judgment and full of Love for our neighbor. We can supply the dignity and respect due to every Child of God. We can smile and we can offer a hand up. We can say You are Worthy as you are and just because you are. We can sit with the child who is struggling and ask, "how is your morning going?" We can offer a smile, an open door, a hug, a word of compassion. We can guard our thoughts to keep from saying "I would never and thank God I am not them" (remember our gospel from Luke about the Pharisee and the tax collector) and instead "thank you God that I know them and how would you like me to serve in this moment on this day, let me be your hands and feet, guide my actions in loving my neighbor".

How different would your life look?

How different would your neighbors life look?

How does it make you feel to consider looking beyond what you can see?

How would your spirit feel if you walked by faith and not by sight?