Enough is ENOUGH.

OK, so this post is going to be slightly off topic as it's really not about communal living, but in light of my current trip to Zambia and a surprise stop over in Ethiopia, I feel compelled to write this post. So, here I go.

I have to say, I find this time of year quite perplexing. The more, more, MORE, give me more attitude that has become pervasive in our society has reached epic proportions. The greed that is so often present in myself and others is out of control. Sadly, it only seems to get worse during the one time of year when it should be at it's best. This time of year should be about being more generous with our time and material blessings. It should be about feeling grateful and blessed, but it often feels just the opposite. One of my friends recently posted on facebook that perhaps we should change the name of Thanksgiving to Black friday eve. He was being facetious but I can certainly see his point. We are bombarded everywhere we turn with images of all the things that we must have in order to be cool and fit in or in order to look sexy and find a mate or in order to make our children happy and be a good parent. Black friday has become ingrained in american culture. It's practically a holiday in itself.  As my friend was pointing out it seems to be overshadowing the holiday in which we are suppose to stop and say we are thankful and have more than enough. Apparently we can pay our lip service and be thankful for 12 hours but come Friday we will be out in stores wide-eyed, cranky, grabbing, and trampling anyone who gets in our way of that new plasma T.V. It's disturbing.

In the aftermath of recently visiting two 3rd world countries I find this societal paradigm downright appalling. Please understand that I am not here writing this with some kind of holier then thou attitude. I too have been victim of the never enough culture. Heck, I even did black friday once. Side note, that was a terrible mistake never to be repeated. Anyway, I too have felt ungrateful and even downright discontent with the many, many material blessings that have been showered upon me. I'm embarrassed to say that I have complained. I've gotten caught up in the I NEED this or that. If I just have this one more thing (fill in the blank with certain material item) I will finally be fulfilled. But it never stops. It never ends. It never fills us up to the point where we can say I'm fulfilled. I don't want anymore. The truth is THINGS will never fulfill us. We were created for relationship, called to give of ourselves, and to see others as better than ourselves. To give until it hurts. So, it's no wonder that gimme, gimme, gimme has never once filled anyone up to the point of being satisfied. Sure, perhaps it made you feel good in the moment but it always fades and you have to find even more things to fill up that void. It's a vicious cycle. It is only when we step out of ourselves, ask God where we can be used and how we can take what we have been given and lavish it on others. It is only when we give of our time and financial resources that we find true joy and satisfaction. This is where the true blessings in life are found.

So, personal story time. Re-immerison into our culture has not been without it's own set of challenges and episodes of reverse culture shock. Shortly after returning from Africa I took a trip to my local T.J Maxx. Being the bargain shopper that I am I generally love stoping at this particular store to peruse the racks and see what thing I can buy. Because I deserve it, right? I work hard and why shouldn't I have that new pair of shoes or top? Am I not entitled to it? (sigh) All of the sudden, as I was walking the racks it felt like time had slowed and I was sitting back watching some kind of slow motion picture of myself and the other people in the store. No one was doing anything particularly "wrong" but as I looked around I just felt empty. A feeling of greed and sorrow filled my soul. I thought of all the children I had played with in Africa. Their clothing threadbare. Their shoes with holes. With only one outfit to their name they played, ate, and slept in the same thing day, after day, after day. Right there in that T.J Maxx, in that very moment, I stood and sobbed. I sobbed for the endless waste of money and time that I and my fellow Americans have frittered away time and again that could have been used to help someone less fortunate, that could have provided a meal or schooling or books. That could have been used to provide justice for a young girl taken up in the sex trafficking trade. That could have gone to the local food pantry or prison outreach program. The list goes on and on. I don't have any idea who those people in that T.J Maxx were that day. I have no idea where they give and where they don't. I have no idea what's inside their hearts. I don't even claim that the act of shopping is inherently bad, but what I do see is a country, a people, (and I'm including myself in this) who are so caught up in their own tiny, narcissistic corner of the world that they miss opportunity after opportunity to  look beyond themselves and their own selfish gains for just long enough to see a world outside of them that is hurting and in need of real, financial, and palatable help. A world that extends far beyond the four walls of their home and the newest toy they have bought for themselves or a loved one. A world in which even those who would be considered "poor" by American standards are actually quite rich compared to the rest of the world. A world that is filled with desperation, and hunger, and violence, and injustice, and torture, and slavery, and oppression, and real life suffering. What if we all set down our yoga mats and our starbucks lattes just long enough to think about the world outside of our teeny tiny corner? What if we stopped long enough to realize that we don't need one more thing to make us happy or fulfill us. Could we finally say enough really IS enough? Could we finally start to give more of ourselves in order that we could find what it means to truly be blessed and to bless others?

In this never enough country how can I/we make a daily stand and say we have more than enough? We don't need one more thing. As the holiday season approaches I challenge all of us, myself included, to take a step back from the marketing and the holiday hype to see that we have more than enough, far more than most of the world will ever see or have. Out of that overflow of more than enough let's see how we can give away a bit more of our time, a bit more of our attention, and a lot more of our financial resources to those around us who really and truly are in need.