The Abundant Person
In the church, there was a sister who was very devoted to the church's cause. Though her clothing was quite simple, she was plump and always wore a smile on her face, exuding tranquility. Looking at her, one would think that she must be living a life free from worries about food and clothing. However, during a Christmas event where she shared her testimony, I was deeply moved by her words.
She used to collect garbage for a living and had fallen from being wealthy to collecting garbage. Where did her abundance and peace come from? Let's take a look at her story.
In earlier years, this sister’s family was very wealthy. In the early 1990s, they spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy a large bus for long-distance travel. However, an accident occurred with the bus—it was destroyed, and several lives were lost. After dealing with the aftermath of the car accident, the sister's family not only lost everything but also had to sell their house to compensate others.
With no money left, her husband took his family to live in a makeshift shack near a garbage dump in the suburbs because they couldn’t afford rent. When winter came, it was freezing cold, and the children's old cotton clothes were worn out. New ones were nowhere in sight, which made the sister very anxious. She prayed in the church, and 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 happily thanked the Lord. Later, every time the seasons changed, there would always be suitable clothes neatly placed there for them. The sister said: "Lord, you have been so kind to me, always providing what I need in my most urgent times. I thank and praise you."
In fact, the sister didn't know that these clothes were secretly placed there by other sisters. During her prayer, another sister heard her and decided to give her son's old cotton coat. Not wanting to embarrass her by directly giving it, the sister dropped it off at night outside her shack. Later, other sisters followed suit, and the sister remained unaware of this.
Though the problem of clothing was solved, life wasn't just about clothes—they still needed food, and the children had to go to school. All these necessities came from scavenging through the garbage heap, which certainly wasn't a life of wealth or abundance. One time, when it was time to pay school fees, all the students had paid except for her daughter. The teacher urged her, saying that if the fee wasn't paid, her daughter wouldn't be allowed to attend school anymore. The sister became very anxious and worked harder at scavenging through the garbage heaps. One day, she got up before dawn and climbed onto the garbage pile, where she found an old pair of shoes. Although worn, they were still in decent condition. She took them home and asked her daughter to try them on. To their surprise, inside the shoe was something wrapped in an old sock—money. This money not only covered her daughter's tuition but also had some leftover. The sister exclaimed joyfully: "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 a few times but knew she couldn't afford it. Her daughter's wish seemed impossible to fulfill. Suddenly, one day, the sister found an invitation in the garbage heap. The invitation stated that by participating in a certain activity, there was a chance to win an electronic keyboard from a music store. Seeing that the date was still within reach, the sister prepared and attended the event. Surprisingly, she actually won an electronic keyboard! Upon returning home, she began singing hymns loudly in gratitude.
Although not rich, the sister always felt lucky and believed that everything was arranged and gifted by the Lord. She said: "By the grace of the Lord, our family, living by this garbage heap, has everything we need. I am truly abundant." She mentioned that in the year of the bus accident, many people died or were injured, but her husband suffered no major harm, all thanks to the Lord's blessings... She didn't say: "This great disaster made us fall from being rich to becoming beggars and 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 lacking. Compared to the CEOs and billionaires of listed companies, I don't consider myself rich. Compared to those around me, some have bigger houses than mine, and some have better cars. To improve my company's performance, I hustle tirelessly, gaining nothing but fatigue and anxiety. It seems I am indeed poor—poor to the point of not knowing what abundance is, poor to the point of having endless desires.
The Bible says: "Consider the lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin, yet God cares for them. Consider the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, yet God does not let them starve. How much more will He care for us, His people!"