What Does It Look Like? - Mindful Appreciation (Part Deux)

What Does It Look Like? - Mindful Appreciation (Part Deux)

GROWING UP, I had no concept of economic classes. I knew some folks had some things I didn’t, and I knew that it was because we didn’t have enough money to purchase them. I had no idea, however, that we were poor!

Fast-forward to the days when my kids were in high school. One year we remodeled our home. That same year we bought a new car (we usually bought used), and we went on a family vacation. One afternoon, Scott mentioned a video game he wanted, and I gave the pat mother answer, “We’ll see.”

Then he asked, “Why can’t we get it now? We’re rich.”

Really? I knew that financially things were easier for us than my family growing up, but I had no idea we were rich!

Though my family’s financial position today is more secure than in my childhood when material things were few and far between, nothing has really changed for me when it comes to mindful appreciation. I credit my parents and grandmother for this attitude.

During the Great Depression, my dad and his former wife raised three kids. During that difficult time, my mother, not yet a teenager, watched her family struggle. Both my parents experienced extreme hardships during this era, but neither were bitter. Like everyone, they buckled down and did without. When they did receive the basics like a small job or meat to go with their dinner, they were grateful. And I’ve seen this same scenario play out over the past year.

As a volunteer at our local homeless center, I work in the assembly line filling plates. I have never seen people more grateful for food. Hungry people have mindful appreciation for a cup of fruit cocktail.

When I drop off our household items and clothing at LifeNet, I know I have never seen people more grateful for my castoffs. Poor people have mindful appreciation for a warm coat and cookie sheets.

And as I walk beside my girlfriend Karen, who is grieving the loss of her young husband, I realize I have never seen a person more grateful for the people in her life. Those who have lost much have mindful appreciation for what they still have.

I give thanks, O LORD, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. (Psalm 138:1-2)

Do I want Ava to be poor or to lose someone she loves? Of course not. But I didn’t live through the Depression, and Steve is still alive and well. So it will be up to our family to show Ava mindful appreciation, just as the grieving and the poor model it for us.