A choice
The swishing of the washer.
The hum of the dryer.
Haircut.
Filling the refrigerator and pantry with food.
Watching the gas gage rise to full.
Sitting down to dinner at a restaurant.
A cup of coffee at a local shop.
The click of the keys while the wifi gives me the ability to pay bills online.
A mere day of ordinary things that I cannot get out of my mind. Six months ago our financial status changed. It was a choice that we made as a family. It was something that we had six months to prepare for. It was something that we wanted to do in order for us to be closer to resources that could be transformative. We made a consequence decision for the health of our family and knew that our financial resources would decrease in the process,
It hasn't been easy taking the pay cut. We have to make difficult decisions about what we are going to purchase/eat out/ save/ give to our church but the choice was ours. We had time to prepare. We have made cuts within our family budget. When the appliances have gone out (which they have) we had savings that we could pull from (not that much but enough). Christmas came and we purchased a few things that we didn't expect but wanted to do but expenses none the less.
Approaching January we waited for our paychecks. We were down to the essentials in our refrigerator and freezer (we didn't have any proteins that I could simply pull out and make a full meal with). I made my grocery list the other day, I wanted to go shopping over the weekend but I was waiting for the all-important automatic deposit to show up in my account on the 15th. When I checked late on the 14th, there it was; the money wonderfully deposited into my account ready for me to fill my car with gas and to purchase the much-needed groceries for our cupboards. Just like that I paid bills, I got my haircut, I went grocery shopping and I grabbed a cup of coffee knowing that I had money in my budget to do what I needed to do.
I keep thinking about all of those who do not have a choice. They are working without pay. They are getting up at the crack of dawn to ensure that our food is delivered on time (yes the farmers are affected), they sit at screens watching and navigating the skies for thousands of people who need to get from one place to another. They are showing up dealing with the public and listening to them complain when their own lives are now in jeopardy. This was not their choice. This was not something that they could have prepared for (please don't begin a debate about if they had only saved and taken precautions they would have been prepared...please raise a family living on minimum wage before you go down that road).
The ordinary is extraordinary,
The hum of the washer means that our lights are still on and our electric bill has been paid.
The bright beautiful screen that you are looking into means that your internet is something of a luxury.
The food that is upon your table means that your body will be filled with nutrients that it so desperately needs in order to function properly.
There are many within our nation today who did not have a choice, who find themselves waiting for their bank accounts to be filled. Many are wondering how they will keep their lights and heat on. Parents are sending their kids to school without lunch or the bare minimum in order to survive. There are persons wondering how they are going to pay the insurance on the cars that they so desperately need to keep going to and from a job in which they are not being paid for. There are adults who find themselves in a health crisis because they have had a lapse in their health care.
Today as you get in your car, purchase your coffee, head out for your appointments, turn on your lights think about all those who did not have a choice and who find themselves wondering if they will be able to do the very things that you are doing today. Today instead of complaining or placing the blame on the Republicans and/or theDemocratstes, lets look at our fellow human beings with compassion and mercy and do something for them.
The hum of the dryer.
Haircut.
Filling the refrigerator and pantry with food.
Watching the gas gage rise to full.
Sitting down to dinner at a restaurant.
A cup of coffee at a local shop.
The click of the keys while the wifi gives me the ability to pay bills online.
A mere day of ordinary things that I cannot get out of my mind. Six months ago our financial status changed. It was a choice that we made as a family. It was something that we had six months to prepare for. It was something that we wanted to do in order for us to be closer to resources that could be transformative. We made a consequence decision for the health of our family and knew that our financial resources would decrease in the process,
It hasn't been easy taking the pay cut. We have to make difficult decisions about what we are going to purchase/eat out/ save/ give to our church but the choice was ours. We had time to prepare. We have made cuts within our family budget. When the appliances have gone out (which they have) we had savings that we could pull from (not that much but enough). Christmas came and we purchased a few things that we didn't expect but wanted to do but expenses none the less.
Approaching January we waited for our paychecks. We were down to the essentials in our refrigerator and freezer (we didn't have any proteins that I could simply pull out and make a full meal with). I made my grocery list the other day, I wanted to go shopping over the weekend but I was waiting for the all-important automatic deposit to show up in my account on the 15th. When I checked late on the 14th, there it was; the money wonderfully deposited into my account ready for me to fill my car with gas and to purchase the much-needed groceries for our cupboards. Just like that I paid bills, I got my haircut, I went grocery shopping and I grabbed a cup of coffee knowing that I had money in my budget to do what I needed to do.
I keep thinking about all of those who do not have a choice. They are working without pay. They are getting up at the crack of dawn to ensure that our food is delivered on time (yes the farmers are affected), they sit at screens watching and navigating the skies for thousands of people who need to get from one place to another. They are showing up dealing with the public and listening to them complain when their own lives are now in jeopardy. This was not their choice. This was not something that they could have prepared for (please don't begin a debate about if they had only saved and taken precautions they would have been prepared...please raise a family living on minimum wage before you go down that road).
The ordinary is extraordinary,
The hum of the washer means that our lights are still on and our electric bill has been paid.
The bright beautiful screen that you are looking into means that your internet is something of a luxury.
The food that is upon your table means that your body will be filled with nutrients that it so desperately needs in order to function properly.
There are many within our nation today who did not have a choice, who find themselves waiting for their bank accounts to be filled. Many are wondering how they will keep their lights and heat on. Parents are sending their kids to school without lunch or the bare minimum in order to survive. There are persons wondering how they are going to pay the insurance on the cars that they so desperately need to keep going to and from a job in which they are not being paid for. There are adults who find themselves in a health crisis because they have had a lapse in their health care.
Today as you get in your car, purchase your coffee, head out for your appointments, turn on your lights think about all those who did not have a choice and who find themselves wondering if they will be able to do the very things that you are doing today. Today instead of complaining or placing the blame on the Republicans and/or theDemocratstes, lets look at our fellow human beings with compassion and mercy and do something for them.
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