Thanksgiving, Christmas and Poverty

Right now, with Thanksgiving/Christmas is typically the season for charitable giving. We are feeling pretty good about the good gifts we’ve been given, and we want to give to others out of our thankfulness.

Unfortunately, poverty is alive and well and living next door to all of us. Whether or not these families struggle because of their own choices, or maybe they were laid off… Maybe they are disabled, or maybe they even suffer from PTSD. The point is there are people out there who need our help.

For many years, my husband and I wrestled with never having enough money. In fact, I’ll be honest; my whole adult life has been this way. Yes, it has partially been my fault in the past, and it has also been due to the sacrifices we were willing to make for me to stay home with our kids. But the circumstances really have no bearing on the facts.

If people are willingly and maliciously taking from others with no plan of getting out of their current circumstances, I can understand not helping them further. But have you heard of the term “working poor?”

Making minimum wage isn’t going to be sufficient for families to survive.

Working part-time, even though it’s the only job they can find, isn’t going to be sufficient for families to survive.

And then there are those of us who look down our noses at those who are less fortunate than we are. But, really, you never know when you might be right around the corner from being in the same shoes.

There are reasons why Jesus said not to judge others. And He also implores us to take care of the orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27).

Teachers are some of the poorest paid individuals in the United States, and I think people forget that. They are required to pay into teacher retirement instead of Social Security, but the amount is significant. One would think that teachers have good health insurance, but in our experience, it isn’t great at all. (Right now, our insurance is probably the best we’ve had in the education system, but it’s very expensive.) And getting paid once a month is very difficult, especially when you have children who might need a brand new pair of shoes in the middle of your month, and you just don’t have the money for anything but food and gas to get to the job.

And there are other stories, too.

I know someone who was married to an abusive man who made her beg for money to feed their kids. He told her how worthless she was, and she started believing him. In fact, she started sleeping on the floor or sofa in their living room because he wouldn’t let her sleep in her own bed. When she finally got the courage to leave him, she could only find a part-time job. She made $8.00/hour and only qualified for around $80 in food stamps each month for 3 people. And then it was cut when she received a small raise that put her $10 over the limit.

Now she has to make the decision each month of paying her bills or feeding her kids.

When we first moved to Texas from Arkansas, it was pretty fantastic financially (at least, on paper) for us. While our pay increased, so did our expenses. The good thing for us was that we finally had HOPE things would be better. And gradually, they are getting better.

There was one month in that first summer that we had no money. Absolutely no money for food, gasoline, anything. I finally told a couple of our friends the short version (we have no money for even milk and bread) and asked them to pray for us.

They said they would pray for us. Practically, though, we still had no milk or bread.

Soon after, we received a card from my mom in the mail with a $50 bill inside. She said she just had a feeling that we needed it.

She had no clue.

If we all answered the call in our hearts, you know the feeling that something needs to be done for someone else, whether it’s buying gift cards, taking groceries to their house, sending them money, paying their utility bills, whatever you are being called to do… if we answered it, things in this world would dramatically change.

I’m asking this of you.

Next time you feel the urging to do something for someone else, just do it. You will feel great about it, and you could be the answer to someone’s prayers.

Here’s some helpful links.

North Texas Food Bank - http://web.ntfb.org/page.aspx?pid=253

Tarrant Area Food Bank - http://www.tafb.org/

Community Storehouse - http://www.communitystorehouse.org/

World Vision - http://www.worldvision.org/m/sponsor-a-child/?campaign=1193512&gclid=CLH6oezk6boCFchQ7AodJX4AJQ