feeling poor…feeling rich
May 8, 2009All morning today I thought we had nothing. The glass was half empty (the bank account too)and all I could think was “HOW will we make it? I seemed to be stacking up defeatist arguments in my head like some nutcase hording ammo.
Then it was 5:30pm and a woman hobbled to our back door with her young daughter. Her one leg turned inward and she used a giant stick like a shepard’s staff. She’d heard there was a woman named Teresia who helps people who are handicapped. Could my heart handle this today??? How on earth could I say no to her but I promised the board NO new people. Was I even going to be able to make it through another sad story?
Two years ago, while washing clothes, her legs suddenly shot through with pain. For one year she had to be carried everywhere and could not walk. Her husband left her. About 8 months ago she started to go to the hospital in Dar. Whatever they were doing was helping, but she had no money to keep paying transport. Could I get her to a private hospital? “No. I’m sorry. We just have no money to take on anyone new. It’s a hard year all over the world and donations are down. I want to help you but the last woman we helped who had a situation similar to yours…….it took so much money and we couldn’t get her the right help…………..”
And then I remembered our closet full of baby clothes. She had said that she used to sell perfume before she got sick. Now that the Baobab Home is full, I know what we need and what we can afford to let go of. So I went through a suitcase and made her a pile. This was so easy. What would I put it in? No bags, but then I spotted a large pillow case and I stuffed it. Suddenly, I was someone so different than the woman who woke up on the poor side of the bed. I was abundantly wealthy, swimming in excess and with the toss of a hand I could give someone a new business. So I was about to say goodbye when I remembered that Justis had eaten lunch at school and there were leftovers. Yes, she and her daughter were hungry. I was a millionaire. All those arguments I’d been storing up all morning about lack, lack, and what if? They left in the pillowcase with her.
