We are all stuck at home. Everything has shut down and most of us are going to be spending many weeks, maybe months in our homes, feeling restless and worried, annoyed and even angry. We’re all giving up a lot and it’s frustrating having our lives come to a screeching halt, I know. It’s also something that must be done, and we all understand how critical our social distancing is to the health of our states, our nation, our world.
My daughter was emergently rushed back into the U.S. from El Salvador, where she was on a mission trip to serve families in need. Their group built new beds and delivered them to people who have never had a bed before in their lives. The medical team offered care and attention to those who never get to see a doctor. They gave new shoes to hundreds of kids who never had a new pair to wear.
And as she was showing me all her pictures and telling me all about her trip, it occurred to me how much we all have right where we are stuck and restless, wanting more.
I was convicted and maybe you will be too…
We are so consumed by our limitations, we forget the abundance that surrounds us within the parameters of our comfortable homes. We have AC and heating, running water and beds. We have electronics and Netflix, video games and TVs the size of entire walls. And oh yeah, we have those too. Walls. We also have flooring and carpet, bathrooms and bedrooms, and even storage for all of our extra stuff. We have refrigerators and freezers and pantries stocked with food and for many, enough toilet paper for the year. And actual toilets that flush too.
I could go on and on and on, couldn’t I? Are you starting to think about what’s in YOUR home? I hope so. Because not only do we have everything we need; most of us have pretty much everything we could ever want, too.
Just look at this home, where a young girl lives with her grandparents. THAT right there is their home. The child’s mother died and her father disappeared, so her grandparents take care of her here. They scrounge for enough money to buy her drinking water so she won’t get sick. I’m betting they don’t have a flatscreen tv or fridge full of milk and eggs and cheese. I don’t think we’d find a pantry full of food or a working toilet in this home. I have a hunch they don’t have carpeted floors or the luxury of running water either.
This precious 12-year-old boy is lying on his first newly built and painted bed, made just for him. Do you see where he lives? Do you see any other commodities? And yet, he is SO grateful for that bed and the beautiful quilt and pillow too. I don’t see any other furniture or rooms in his home. I don’t see stocked pantries or a private bathroom or any walls either. I only see a dirt floor and a bright bed. THIS is his home. I can’t help but wonder what happens during the rainy season, can you?
When We’re Stuck at Home, Let’s Remember All We Have
So yes, we’re all going to be stuck at home for a while and it will be hard, but maybe while we’re stuck in our places, we can take a good look around and see all we have. These commodities are BLESSINGS we sometimes forget to actually count. During all of our free time, being bored and restless, and wanting more…
May I suggest we count them all? Where to even begin, right?
Heck, just go in your closets and count your shoes to start. These boys are THRILLED to have their new pair.
Walk around your home and acknowledge every single item that you have been gifted with because you are living in the luxury of provision while much of the world is stuck in a whole different place. Have your kids join you in this project, perhaps write each blessing down to create an entire book of what your family has and what your home holds. Can you even imagine how many pages it would fill? I bet doing this would keep us all pretty busy- and hopefully more grateful too.
Yes, grateful that we get to be stuck in a place like ours.
Enjoy your homes and the extravagance you hold within your own walls. Embrace your comforts as if they were new and not just the same ol’ couch or kitchen, computer or tv, fridge or oven, heat or AC.
Because there are precious people who were ecstatic about getting their first bed in their homes that have none of those things and surely never will.
PIN IT!
Stay grateful, friends. Even while you’re stuck at home.
This is beautiful, Chris. Something we all need right now is to count our many blessings. Perfect reminder. And wow, those photos are stunning. So glad your girl made it home. But I bet it was an experience of a lifetime. We are so spoiled in the scheme of things. Hugs.
Thank you so much, my friend. This really does put things in perspective, doesn’t it? A good thing to remember right now while we’re all stuck in the confines of our comfortable homes. (Are you too?)
My girl LOVED her experience, despite the traumatic transition home back to this mess. But mission work is her calling, of that she is sure. There will be more trips ahead in her future and I’m so proud of her!
Thank you for this, Chris! Focusing on what we have (which is a lot) keeps our minds hopeful and in gratitude! I am glad too, that your daughter had such an experience!
Isn’t that the truth, Lynn? What an important reminder and conviction for us all, while we’re stuck in our comfortable homes! Thank you so much for your support, my friend. It was a tough transition back for my girl, but she’s doing better now. She only wishes she could have been stuck there! She left her heart with those precious people she served. There will be many more trips ahead, that’s for sure. 🙂
You are very right. I’m glad she’s home with you and sad she didn’t get to go on this trip. There will be more. And she will always be helpful and loving.
We have the kids at home, a baby on the way, and four acres of land to roam in. Plus both of our jobs are still chugging along and paying, and we have access to food and water and books and movies.
We are VERY lucky.
AMEN Christine!