The Haves and Have Nots

I volunteered for a charity event this weekend and I thought nothing about dropping $100 for my hair (it needed colored and cut) and buying a new outfit. Granted, I wanted to look my best for the social elite, but did I really need to spend the extra cash on a new outfit?

It was a fundraiser for inner city, underprivileged kids to attend a Christian Academy. These kids come from mostly broken homes, where the mother is not educated. The school that they go to has a 0% drop out rate, with 70% of the students going onto college - which is great.

At the time of the event, I thought it would be great to sponsor one of these families at Christmas time. I could collect money from the employees at work and buy gifts for a family.

I was really pumped up about this until my stepson, his wife and son came to visit on Sunday. Jon has been layed off from work and is collecting unemployeement. Amie is working part time to help out, but is only making minimum wage. They have applied for food stamps, but won't get them until January because the state is running behind processing this type of thing.

I asked Amie how they are buying food, and she didn't really give me an answer, she just shook her head indifferently. She said they go to the food bank, but that is only once a month.

This got me thinking about how much Gordy and I have, and his son needs food stamps to eat. I thought about how much a family from this school would appreciate a little recognition over the holidays, then countered with, "I have family that is just as needy."

Do we care so much about helping others that we overlook what is right in front of our faces?

I guess I never really thought that someone in my family could need so much. I never saw it that way. They never complain, they never ask for anything, but yet they need so much. It isn't that Jon is lazy, he is one of the hardest working people I know. He just took the easy way out. He didn't want to go to school or join the Army, so instead, his mom found him a job with an electrician - not a bad profession, but not stable either.

So, here I am, thinking nothing about spending 30 bucks for a pair of gloves and he can't put food on the table. Should I feel bad for the choices I made? For the time I spent getting an education so I can have nice things. No, but I do.

I feel bad for the mother who will not enjoy the expression on her children's face Christmas morning becuase she can't afford gifts. I feel bad that Jon and Amie can't put food on the table. I feel bad that I don't need to worry about any of these things.

As time goes by, I wonder how much wider the divide will become.