Spent this New Year's Eve morning helping move a single mom's stuff from her apartment to a storage unit. It was a good exercise in gratitude. Teresa found her way to our congregation about six weeks ago through a member friend. She was pretty much at the end of her rope: unemployed, without transportation, and living in a ratty apartment with no electricity the past several months because she had no money. Child protection services told her she couldn't keep her two sons (ages one and three) in those living conditions, so the kids were staying with her ex-husband's parents, who in turn were trying to take custody of the kids away from their mom. Meanwhile, Teresa had taken up with a new boy friend who failed to keep up payments on her van, as promised, such that when he vanished the van was repossessed for back payments. So that was pretty much her story when she came to our Sunday morning coffee house, saying that she had a strong impresssion she needed to come to church that day.
Everyone around the table was sympathetic to her plight, offering to help drive her to job interviews, get he stuff moved out of the apartment, etc. We and others gave her money. And a few weeks ago yet another member of the congeregation offered to let her and the kids stay at her house so they could be together until other arrangements could be made. She has since found temp work that has helped ease her financial crisis, but still needed to get her household stuff moved out of the apartent and into a storage unit--particularly since someone kept breaking in and stealing things. So while Sharon and our friend Pat looked after the kids, Don, Jim, Geoff, and I rented a U-Haul and headed over to the apartment. It was a shambles, due in part to the break-ins and stuff being rummaged through, and due in part to some pretty shoddy housekeeping. (Note to self: after several similar expereiences, next time someone asks if I can come help them move, insist on going over beforehand to see the extent of stuff and the deree of readiness for a move. Odds are there will be twice the stuff they describe, and very little packing accomplished.) At any rate, three hours later we had most of the stuff hauled out of the second story apartment (why are they ALWAYS two stories?) and packed into the storage unit. We couldn't finish the job entirely because the storage unity was only open until noon on New Year's eve, but most of the heavy stuff was gone and the rest can be taken by pickup truck. It was a good thing to do, and we had fun doing it, kidding each other as guys do, and shifting into "gitterdone" mode.
Now that I'm back home thinking about it, there's lots to ponder. There's the matter of contrasting wealth; this woman's possessions can all be moved in a few hours; mine would require several days. And much of what Teresa owns I'd just take to Goodwill in the first place. Compared to Teresa, I am indeed incredibly wealthy. Some of that is probably by dint of my own hard work, and having made beter life choices. But much of my good fortune is also due to circumstances not of my own doing: I was born into privilege as a white male, tall, not ugly, with access through Social Securit and National Defense Loans to a college education. I never had a companion who became a meth addict and squandered our money, or a girlfriend who lied to me and left me in dire financial straits. Buy all appearances Teresa is a hard-working gal who's just down on her luck, and we can help her get back on her feet. It's easy for me to slip into judgmental mode, which is what I grew up with, but as I age I see that most folks are just doing the best they can with what they have and what's happended to them. You can't wait until you encounter "the worthy poor" to offer assistance, because you really can;'t know what all has happened to these folks, or how you yourself might have responded in similar circumstances. All I know is that I am incredibly blessed, and among these blessings in the opportunity to bless others. It's a good feeling...even if it sometimes makes me jump when the phone rings late at night!
