The Abundant Person
In the church, there was a sister who was enthusiastic about the church's cause. Although her clothing was very plain, she was plump and always had a smile on her face, exuding tranquility. Looking at her, one would think that she surely lived a life free from worries about food and clothing. However, during a Christmas event not long ago when she went up to share her testimony, I was deeply moved by her words.
She used to be someone who scavenged for garbage, and she fell into this situation after being wealthy. So where did her abundance and serenity come from? Let us look at her story.
In the early years, this sister's family was very rich. In the early 1990s, her family spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy a large bus for long-distance travel. Later, the bus got into an accident, not only destroying the vehicle but also injuring several lives. After handling this car accident, the sister's family was left with nothing—not even a house as it was sold to compensate others.
With no money, her husband brought them to the outskirts where they built a shack near a garbage dump and made a living by collecting garbage. That winter, it was very cold. The children's old cotton clothes were no longer suitable, but new ones were nowhere in sight. The sister prayed anxiously in the church. The next morning, when she opened the door, she found a plastic bag beside it. Inside was a cotton coat that perfectly fit her son’s age and size. The sister joyfully thanked the Lord. Later, whenever the seasons changed, there were always appropriate clothes discarded and placed there, clean and ready. The sister said, "Lord, you have been so kind to me, always providing what I need in my most urgent times." She expressed her gratitude and praise.
Actually, this sister didn’t know that those clothes were secretly placed there by other sisters. When she prayed, another sister heard her and happened to have an old cotton coat her son no longer wore. Wanting to give it to her but feeling embarrassed because it was old, the sister left it secretly outside her shack at night. Later, other sisters learned about this and started doing the same, keeping the sister unaware.
The problem of the children's clothing was solved, but life wasn't just about clothes—they still had to eat, and the children had to go to school. All of this came from picking through the garbage heap, certainly not leading to a life of wealth and sufficiency. Once, it was time to pay the school fees, but everyone in the class had paid except for her daughter. The teacher urged her, saying that if the fees weren't paid, her daughter wouldn't be allowed to attend school. The sister became anxious and worked harder, diligently searching through the garbage. One day, she got up before dawn, climbed onto the garbage pile, and found an old pair of shoes. Though old, they were still in good condition. She took them home and let her daughter try them on. Unexpectedly, when her daughter put her foot inside, she found something inside—a sock wrapped around a roll of money. This way, not only did her daughter's school fees get covered, but there was even some leftover. The sister rejoiced, saying, "Lord, you are truly merciful!" At that moment, she felt like the richest person in the world.
Another time, her daughter wanted an electronic keyboard. The sister had looked at it several times but couldn't afford it, so the daughter's wish remained unfulfilled. Suddenly, one day, the sister found an invitation in the garbage heap. The invitation said that by participating in a certain activity, there was a chance to receive a free electronic keyboard from a music store. Seeing that the date was still within reach, she prepared and attended the event, and indeed, she won an electronic keyboard. Upon returning, she began singing hymns loudly.
Although not wealthy, the sister always felt lucky, believing all of this was arranged and blessed by the Lord. She was filled with joy and gratitude, saying, "Through the grace of the Lord, our family, staying by this garbage heap, has everything we need. I am truly abundant." That year, when the bus accident occurred, others either died or were injured, but her husband escaped major harm—this, she believed, was all the Lord's blessing... She didn't say: "It was this great disaster that caused our whole family to fall from being rich to becoming beggars, homeless."
As the sister spoke above, I fell into deep thought below. I have a car, a house, and can buy whatever I want, yet I always feel that I lack something. I always compare myself to the CEOs of listed companies and the rich, thinking I'm not wealthy compared to them. Compared to people around me, some have bigger houses than mine, and some have better cars than mine. To improve the performance of my company, I work tirelessly, and besides gaining fatigue and anxiety, I seem really poor, poor to the point that I don't know what abundance is, poor to the point that my desires never end.
The Bible says: "Consider the lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin, yet God takes care of them. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or gather into barns, yet God does not let them starve. How much more will He take care of us!"