Clairty through poverty

It was a ritual between my mom and I to eat our dinner sitting in front of the tv watching Little House On The Prairie. When we first moved to Fort Wayne, that ritual was one done on top of two huge, white, floor pillows. Those pillows were our only furniture for awhile. In the moment I loved every minute of it. Eating pancakes (which we did often and I loved), watching my favorite show, and being with my mom...I could have cared less that we sat on the floor. Looking back I can tell you we were truly broke.

As a parent who often is broke I can appreciate what those days must have been like for my mom. It's one thing to go to bed hungry, it's another to put your child to bed that way. A parent's natural instinct is to provide and protect. That's what we do. My worst financial memory as a parent is when we looked in the couch cushions for change to go buy milk and couldn't find any; I had to explain to the kids we couldn't get milk for a few days. We were truly broke.

January 2011 I went out of the country for the first time in my life; I traveled with a medical team to The Dominican Republic. I was told to prepare for culture shock, I felt I had especially since my aunt and uncle are missionaries. Day 3 a mother came to the clinic, her 3 month old baby had chronic diarrhea. Through investigation the team realized she was giving the infant juice not milk...she couldn't afford milk. In that moment my world collided with her world only it was magnified 100x because I just had to wait until Friday, payday, she had no idea if relief would ever come. She wasn't broke she was in poverty.

And then...

I had the privilege of speaking with a room full of women who were eager to learn their rights as women, to bond as women. When it was over I sat at my seat and clarity descended upon me. "You are part of something bigger than you see" that's what I heard in my heart. God took that moment to remind me that we ALL are bonded by HIM, for HIM, and through HIM regardless of how much money we have, nationality we are, or house we live in. Clarity came in the form of being grateful to be a women, being grateful to be a Christian and being grateful to be a visitor.

To my friends in the DR...you are loved, you are missed, and you are prayed for daily. Hold your heads high because in His eyes you are not broke and you are certainly not in poverty. You are part of something bigger than you see.