The Grateful Journal Series
I think it’s safe to say that most of us, especially those living in the United States and other developed countries, have been provided for throughout our lives. Even those of us who grew up poor rarely went without the necessities. I can say this because I was considered poor growing up and even after I had my own children.
My brothers and I, and later my children, grew up on welfare. We never had the in-style clothes; we wore hand-me-downs and cheap off-brand shoes. Families we had never met would “adopt” us for Christmas after choosing our names from the Angel Tree in the local mall. We qualified for free lunch and breakfast at school every year. We mostly lived in shoddy trailer parks or old, run-down houses. We sometimes went without gas, electricity, and water until our mom could borrow the money to get the utilities back on—a telephone or cable were luxuries we never had.
Despite all this, we were not poor. Because of welfare, we never went without food, clothing, and shelter; we always had everything we needed and many things we didn’t need. We also had a loving family who ensured we had the important and even the unimportant things. In sum, God always provided.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalms 23:1
Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Luke 12:24
We often think we have so little when, in reality, we are wealthy compared to millions around the world. But some less fortunate people we see as poor or poverty-stricken live more joyful lives than we do.
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