Before I start, this isn’t a post about how awesome I am because I helped at the food bank today:) The truth be known, I didn’t have anything to do and they needed a big dumb guy to help move boxes, so that’s what I did. Laura and I went to the food bank to help pass out thanksgiving dinners. Each family got a turkey, pie and a box of canned goods. It was quite a joy to say hello and greet those people with a smile. We’d put the stuff in there cars and wish them a happy thanksgiving.
I caught myself saying “take it easy” or “have a nice day” and then got to thinking about what I was saying. I meant well by what I was saying but I’m sure a lot of those folks aren’t just taking it easy. There was a particular lady crying because her husband just got laid off and another women who told us she was just let go from her job. The second women tried make a joke of it saying “couldn’t they have waited till next week to lay me off”. I started trying to put myself in their shoes. What if I couldn’t provide for Laura and myself and had to go to the food bank or get food stamps. That would be so humbling and hard for me to do. Honestly though, if either one us lost our jobs it wouldn’t take long before we’d be there.
So you know for sure people in that situation can’t afford good health care or even child care for their kids during the day. I can barely afford insurance myself and I’m normal middle class america. It just makes me have a new respect for folks that work in the service industry for a low wage. They bust their butts for not much and I bet the stupid petty crap we worry about never crosses their mind. Like wireless internet, cell phones, cable tv or if they get to go out to eat. I sometimes wonder if progress and technology haven’t been to our demise.
I can’t wait to meet the Lord one day and find out how He intended this to be from the beginning. What a great day it will be.
