Tonight I was helping with a service project. People had brought gifts for families who needed help providing Christmas. We helped with wrapping and sorting. There were a lot of families, with piles of presents in several different rooms. As things were winding down, there were just a few really old women left with my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and me. These kind women must have been at least seventy-five. One had a walker, none were going anywhere quickly. But they were sitting and lying on the floor, wrapping presents and selecting toys for the families. They all seemed so happy to be bringing Christmas to these families and there were absolutely no complaints of being tired, aching or anything of the like (except from my seventeen-year-old sister-in-law). I was grateful to be more than able-bodied.
As we sorted gifts and ensured that the numbers were balanced among siblings, I thought of the parents who would be giving these gifts to their children. They must want to make Christmas nice for their children. I remember how much I always looked forward to it. I hope it lifted a burden for the parents, knowing that their children would receive something for Christmas.
I was struck by how many of the children would be receiving as many or more clothes than toys, probably because that's what they needed most. Then, we stacked up the gifts for a family with twelve children, including eight month old twins. And there were diapers. I imagine, or at least really hope, that these families do have diapers and the gift of a few more packages of diapers will only release some money to go other places. Still, I thought of what a necessity diapers are for me. What if I couldn't afford them? What if the next can of formula or the next pack of diapers would be too much for our little budget?
Now, we are certainly far from wealthy, and have benefited greatly from the generosity of others, particularly since the arrival of our baby. And I cringe a little every time I have to buy another can of formula, even though I've almost always gotten a coupon or two from somewhere. But I am grateful that diapers are something we can do. And the formula doesn't break us.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with my brother a few weeks ago. He was telling us about a wealthy friend who passed up an investment opportunity saying,
I have enough money. I guess that's incredible to many people, but I think it displays great wisdom. In contemplating the story, I determined that I also have enough money. It's not that I wouldn't love to have more, nor that I couldn't think of plenty of places to spend it (I have lists for that too). But, I think an aphorism I heard the other day describes it perfectly,
you can never get enough of what you don't need.I'm grateful that this Christmas, not only do I know exactly where my own and my family's next meals are coming from, but we are also able to give gifts to those we love. When I can no longer afford to be generous, then I will truly consider myself poor.
