Prosperous people

A Sufficient Person

Column: Essays Added Time: March 31, 2011 15:05:43 Source: admin Clicks: 16

There was a sister in the church who was enthusiastic about the church's cause. Although her clothing was very simple, she was plump and always had a smile on her face, looking serene. When you saw her, you would think that she definitely lived a life without worry about food and clothing. However, during a Christmas event when she went up to give testimony, I was deeply shocked by her words.

She used to be a garbage collector, and she fell from being rich to collecting garbage. Where did her sufficiency and serenity come from? Let's look at her experience.

In the early years, this sister's family was very wealthy. In the early 1990s, they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a large bus for long-distance travel. Later, the bus had an accident, not only destroying the vehicle but also injuring several lives. After handling this car accident, the sister's family was not only left with nothing, but they even lost their home because they had to sell it to compensate others.

Her husband, now penniless, took them to build a shack near a garbage dump in the suburbs since they couldn't afford rent. They survived by collecting garbage. That winter, when it got cold, the children's old cotton clothes were no longer suitable, but new ones were nowhere in sight. The sister was very worried and prayed in the church. The next morning, when she opened the door, she found a plastic bag placed beside the door. Inside was a cotton coat perfectly suited for her son's age and size. The sister happily thanked the Lord. Later, whenever the seasons changed, there were always clean and appropriate clothes discarded there. 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."

Actually, this sister didn't know that those clothes were secretly placed there by other sisters. It was because her prayer was overheard by another sister whose son had outgrown his old cotton coat. She wanted to give it to her but felt embarrassed to offer something old, so she quietly placed it in front of her shack at night. Later, when other sisters learned about this, they started doing the same, leaving the sister completely unaware.

The problem of children's clothing was solved, but life isn't just about clothing; they still needed food, and the children needed schooling. All of this came from scavenging through the garbage, which certainly wasn't a life of abundance. Once, it was time for the children to pay their school fees, but everyone else in the class had paid except for her daughter. The teacher kept urging her, saying that if she didn't pay, her daughter wouldn't be allowed to attend school anymore. The sister was very worried and worked harder searching through the garbage pile. One day, she woke up before dawn, climbed onto the garbage pile, and found an old pair of shoes. Though old, they were still decent. She picked them up and let her daughter try them on. Unexpectedly, her daughter found something inside the shoe. Upon removing it, they discovered a broken sock wrapped around a roll of money. This way, not only was her daughter's tuition fee covered, but there was even some leftover. The sister was delighted and exclaimed: "Lord, you are truly merciful." At that moment, she felt like she was the richest person in the world.

Another time, her daughter wanted an electronic keyboard. The sister had looked at it a few times but thought it was too expensive. Her daughter's wish remained unfulfilled. Suddenly one day, while scavenging through the garbage, the sister found an invitation. This invitation stated that anyone who participated in a certain activity would have the chance to win an electronic keyboard from a particular music store. The sister noticed that the date was still in time, so she prepared and attended the event. Surprisingly, she really won an electronic keyboard, and upon returning, she began loudly singing hymns.

Although not wealthy, the sister always felt lucky, believing that all these things were arranged and bestowed by the Lord. Therefore, she was filled with joy and gratitude. She said: "By the grace of the Lord, our family has everything we need despite living by this garbage heap. I am truly abundant." That year when the bus accident happened, others either died or were injured, but her husband suffered no serious harm, and even survived a life-and-death ordeal. She attributed all this to the Lord's blessing... She didn't say: "This great disaster caused our entire family to fall from being rich to becoming beggars, homeless."

As the sister spoke above, under the winter trees, I fell into deep contemplation. I have a car and a house, and I can buy whatever I want, yet I always feel lacking. I always think that compared to the CEOs and billionaires of listed companies, I am not rich. Compared to the people around me, some have bigger houses than mine, and some have better cars than mine. To take my company's performance further, I work tirelessly, ending up with only fatigue and anxiety. It seems that I am indeed poor, poor to the point where I don't know what abundance is, poor to the point where my desires never end.

The Bible says: "Look at the flowers in the field; they do not weave or sow, yet God takes care of them. Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or harvest, yet God does not let them starve. How much more will He take care of us!"