Enough

I was enticed by the words, “Pull up a chair.  Yep, we’re going to talk about it some more.“

I read the post with an open mind.  With a mind of a person struggling through the greatest commands…

And toward the end, in the middle of the discussion of marriage (gay marriage/straight marriage), and family (blended/traditional family), was the golden nugget of the thoughts that have been rolling around in my head.

Laura writes,  “I wonder, sometimes, if it’s false sense of scarcity.  Is THAT it?  Do we think there’s only so much happiness to go around?  Are we under the impression that our glass is half empty BECAUSE someone else’s is half full?  Because I see so many people who seem perpetually afraid that there’s not ENOUGH.  Of what doesn’t really seem to matter.  Of everything.

People who move through the world looking to be outraged are successful 100% of the time. It’s true.

When I read these words, I began to think about what it is that the person who has hurt me (and my family) wants, what they think is unequal, what it is that they feel I am doing to take away from them… Because that IS what they are saying… my life is better than theirs.  (Plus other hurtful and potentially damaging things.)  Sadly, they are probably mistaken.  I don’t believe anyone’s life is better than anyone else’s life.  I think we all have tough times, smooth sailing, blue skies and dark periods.  I believe the way we handle each day is what makes life appear particularly “easy” or “difficult”.  I don’t buy into the fact that my life is “better” simply because I dig in and work with my spouse and my spouse digs in and works with me; or because I give my heart and soul to each commitment that I take on; or because I choose to say “no” to things that are not imperative to the development or enrichment of my family.

I see this so often in my little corner of the world; possibly because it’s a very, very small corner of the world.  I see people longing for what others have, complaining when someone “gets away” with something, people enraged by the perception of someone else’s unearned success.  I hear the grumblings when someone is doing “less” but receiving “more”, and when the chips are down, instead of hope, they focus on hate.

Laura is right, if you look to be outraged, you will be successful 100% of the time.  There IS just too much yucky in the world to not be.  But the root of my interest in her post isn’t the valid way she describes the way we describe marriage or families, or the way we support or object to either; my interest is in that announcement that she sees so many people who are perpetually afraid that there’s not ENOUGH.

And that’s the truth.  People are afraid that there’s not enough.  But the truth is, there is an abundance.  There is plenty.  There is more than enough, there is a surplus!  God’s grace, love, compassion, mercy, patience, peace, kindness, tenderness… it is INFINITE!!!  Yes, I really believe that.  I more than believe it, I have experienced it.

I know who I am.  I know what I am.  Often, I wonder why God would love a putz like me.  Why would He “waste” HIS SON on me?  Why would He give me anything?  Why wouldn’t God just smite me and be done with all the effort and time it takes to smooth out my rough edges and get me going in the right direction again?  Why not just call it a day and end me?  The only reason I can think of is that it’s not God’s nature to quit.  He abides.  He is steadfast.  He is eternal.  In contrast to my ticking clock, which clicks away at an annoying decibel sometimes, eternity is seemingly silent.  It comes in breaths that make no sound, and carry us off into something we can’t even imagine.  Eternal.  That’s God for sure.  If God is eternal, then everything about Him is eternal, and nothing runs out.

This means that there is enough for me, and for you.  There is enough for me and for the person who persecutes me.  There is enough for me and the people who make fun of me behind my back.   There is enough for me and the cashier in the store who thinks my kids are brats.  There is enough for me and the people I slight everyday with my over booked schedule and over loaded arms.  There is enough for the stranger, who needs food, and can’t ask because he is afraid I’ll look down on him.  There is enough when I’m tired and cranky and PMSy.  There is enough when I’m sad and hurt and lonely.  There is enough when my plate and my belly are full.  There is enough when my children are playing and I’m sitting on the porch, listening to the sound of their laughter, and begging God to let me take that sound, that memory with me.  There is enough when I’m dry and thirsty, and asking God to give me words to speak and a voice for the thoughts that I have.  There is enough when I’m happy and enough when I’m sad.  There is ENOUGH!!

I want you to hear that, in case you’re feeling slighted, or overlooked, or if you’re jealous of someone or something.  If you wonder if you’re ever going to get that promotion or if those girls are going to quit picking on you, or you’ll lose that weight or get that car.  I want you to hear that there is enough so that you won’t have to wonder if you are loved or cared about or provided for or blessed.  You are.  Even if you don’t feel it, can’t see it, don’t know how it will happen – you are – because there is ENOUGH.  God’s supply of grace, love, compassion and forgiveness NEVER runs out.  It’s an endless well, which constantly runs over.  You only have to talk to GOD about it.  You only have to open the door, and let him in.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”  – Revelation 3:20

Yes, I do agree with Laura, that the fear of scarcity makes us hoard.  When we covet and hoard, we are pulling everything in towards us, but that is not what God has told us to do.  He has commanded us to give, to extend, to share, to let our cups run over.  He wants all that stuff He gives us to spill out onto the people around us.  The good stuff.  The blessings.  The miracles.  The patience.  The kindness.  The love.  Yes, the loving our neighbors comes from knowing that we, ourselves, have been given enough, so much in fact, that we can share.  Loving our neighbors as ourselves frees us to not hoard or covet, but to generously give from our wealth (whatever wealth we have – time, talents, gifts, prayer, service, money).  And when we’re giving thanks to God for the surplus He has given us, we’re too busy to grumble about the stuff He’s given the others.

I know that I can love my neighbor.  I know that I want to love my neighbor.  I know that God has given me enough grace and mercy that I can let a little of it spill over into the life of my neighbor.  Even when my flesh is weak, I can, because God IS enough!

Philippians 4:19
“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

© amysara and TheRFarm.
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