Once there was a man who was richly blessed by God. Everything he touched, it seemed, turned to gold. After receiving news of yet another incredible windfall, he said to himself, “What in the world am I going to do with all this money?” He thought long and hard about what he should do and he finally came up with how to invest his money in a way that would bring even more to his richly blessed life. He summoned his accountants and managers and said to them, “I have been blessed above most people I know and now I have more money than I ever dreamed of. I have decided how I want to invest this money to make even more. I want to put everything I own – except for enough to live on in a simple way – into a charitable foundation. Each year half this money is to be given to organizations that feed the hungry and the other half to assist prisoners who desire to transition to a life free from crime.”
Then the rich man who became poor to become rich said to himself, “I have been blessed beyond anything I ever imagined and now I am blessed even more.” And God said to him, “My son, you have many good things stored up, come now and rest in the joy of your God!”
A dad shared this story about his oldest son when he was just a young lad. His little boy enjoyed Saturday morning cartoons. This dad noticed that his son had a kind of mantra that he repeated during the commercials. He would watch commercials wide eyed and say, “I would like one of those.” He would repeat this many times during the morning and the result was a desire to “have stuff.” Dad and son would visit stores his son went for the toy aisle and said to his dad, “I would like one of those,” turned into, “I need one of those.” The thing just kept growing. “I want more of those… and those… and those…” Dad thought of an old line you likely know well, “The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys.”
So what’s in your barn these days?” I am trying to make sure there is a bit more of a heart for the hungry and homeless, the poor and dispossessed in my barn. In this past month, donations have been forwarded to Volunteers4Animals, Mother Cabrini Food Cupboard, Bethany House, Charlotte Comfort Home Hospice, Mary Cariola, Holy Childhood, CDS Life Transitions, Holy Family, St Jude and Divine Mercy Churches.
I’m considering how we can practice Jesus’ caution about the desire for more which feeds the desire for even more. What a wonderful day when we can pass on a new notion. Instead of “I would like one of those,” I can hear our children saying, “I wonder who could use one of those!”
Have you inventoried your barn lately?
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are taking stock and looking at all the stuff they have accumulated in their attic, basement and rented storage pods. Give us the compassion and generosity to think “I wonder who could use one of these?” We have established a trust fund for our beautiful forest and streams that we call our home to be transferred to Brockport College as an environmental teaching nature center for future generations of faculty and students. We hope and pray that the college is willing to accept our gift and waiting for a positive response.
