Poverty in the Suburbs*

Poverty is more prevalent in my life than I would think as a middle class white guy.

Oddly enough, I spoke to my Aunt down in Alabama earlier in the year, and she said something about my father that I had never known. My father's dad left when he was 3 or 4, and my grandmother remarried an Army man. They had one daughter, my aunt, and proceeded to travel all over the place, including stints in Europe, before settling in Louisiana.

Apparently, there were several things my Dad wanted to do growing up and in high school (activities, events, etc) that the family simply could not afford. My aunt expressed his sincere frustration and resentment about this back and, and that my dad even references some of this stuff present day. It has affected how he helped (or didn't help) with my grandmother's care over her last few years.

Can I connect the dots? Yes, I see how a spirit of poverty plays out in a middle class white dude. I see how I can clutch firmly onto what I've been blessed with, how I can even resent when I don't get more, get what I want.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 convicts me and the feeling that I don't have enough. It keeps me from seeing the abundance of blessings in my life, that the gifts the Lord provides aren't tied to currency.

I repent and recognize my heavenly Father gives, and he gives BIG TIME.

Brothers, this poverty thing is worth digging into.

bc

*I originally posted this on our Deliverance blog, but I wanted to get it on here too.