I wasn’t planning to write a post about how spoiled most of us are.
I was planning to write something about teaching gratitude to children.
But then life happened and my husband and I welcomed a baby into our home who needed a safe place to stay, so the direction of my thoughts shifted quite a bit.
This sweet baby came into our home with nothing more than the clothes she was wearing and one blanket.
No backpack. No toys. No extra clothes.
Just a trash bag with 10 diapers and formula the hospital provided.
When my two children came home from the hospital, their closets were lined with clothes. They had toys shoved into every nook and cranny in their rooms. Boxes of extra diapers were stacked in the closet.
They had everything they needed. No, scratch that. They had MORE than everything they needed. They had excess.
And it’s not only my kids.
My husband and I have excess too.
Sure, we can claim we don’t have much. When we compare ourselves to many other families we know, we don’t have as much as they do.
But the truth is, we’re spoiled.
We’re really, really spoiled.
So the next time I complain about not having enough, please remind me of this post. Remind me there are a lot of people out there who don’t have anything more than what they carry with them. Remind me I’m blessed. Remind me my children don’t need more stuff. And remind me I’m spoiled.
Because if our possessions can fill up more than one trash bag, we’re a lot more spoiled than many beautiful children in this country.
My family has it pretty good. I believe if we don’t appreciate something, it will taken from us. We have been de-cluttering our storage room. It’s amazing how much we had duplicates of. Joyce Meyers said that if you haven’t seen it for a year, it is either lost or collecting dust. How true for our storage room.
Bonnie, I like that Joyce Meyers quote. A lot of wisdom there.
When I was growing up my parents kept foster children. One child came to us with only a grocery sack of clothes plus those on his back – he was 5 (no toys, books or even a coat). My Mom began fixing lunch and had the sandwich bread out to make sandwiches. Monty asked if he could have a piece of bread & my Mom said ok. Before she could get the rest of lunch ready to put on the table he had eaten the entire loaf of bread! He had been starved for most of his young life and had been made to eat from a bowl on the floor like a dog. He had only recently seen a knife, fork, or spoon. I often think of Monty when I feel deprived and realize I am spoiled!
Sidney, that is so, so sad 🙁 Heartbreaking. Yes, we are so very spoiled.