The recognition of “Faith” and “Grace” can go a long way in helping us through the most difficult of times. Let’s not kid ourselves, these are tough times for some people. Consumers are being hit hard with prices that have not come down though inflation is receding and getting under control. Companies are price gouging as many people continue to live paycheck to paycheck.
Over the last 30 some years, wage increases have not kept up with the cost of living. Though record profits are recorded in companies and ceo’s continue to enjoy record breaking profits, average families are not seeing the benefits of this. The federal minimum wage has been stuck at 7.25 for the last 15 years, as the last increase was in 2009.
Greed is an infestation that inspires fear to wreak havoc in times like these and stories are numerous of how people are responding in fearful ways. I heard a story about a grandfather who is wealthy. He took his two granddaughters to the ice cream shop to buy them milkshakes. Good old grandad was doing his kindly grandfather duties and looked like a hero in the eyes of the children. In the meantime, while at the shop, he told his wealthy banker son he wanted to be reimbursed for the shakes and asked to “Venmo the money as soon as possible.”
A colleague of mine stopped me at work and told me about her neighbors. The family has hit tough times and had its gas and electricity turned off, and they are struggling to pay their mortgage. The wife is working two jobs to keep the family afloat, driving for Door Dash and working as a home health care aid. Her husband, a construction worker, suffered a disability on the job. He’s fallen into a great depression due to his circumstances. He’s staying home raising his three children, ages 2, 4 and 12 while his wife works. His disability claim has not kicked in yet, and until it does the family will struggle. They’ve confided in their neighbor, my colleague, who has been a shoulder to cry on, and she offers a kind word to inspire them to realize they are not alone and it will get better, “to keep the faith.”
I told my colleague we were going to be working at the Food Bank, so I’d see what we could do to help. We worked in the Kid’s Café, working the assembly line placing milk, sandwiches, fruit cups, juice, grapes and condiments in boxes and wrapping them in plastic. These products were going to be shipped to after school programs and Boys and Girls Clubs, so children can have what may be their only meals. The Parma school district, where the 12 year old attends classes, has gone to free meals to curb food insecurity. You can bet your bottom dollar the adolescent, who cannot work yet as she does not meet the minimum age requirement for work, has been saving her portions for her sisters to ensure they have a treat every day.
My colleague was overjoyed, as I put her on speaker phone telling her to meet me in the parking lot as we were able to get some canned goods and food for the family. That night I received a picture of the two girls who were gleefully dancing for joy in their bare feet at the bounty of riches they received. They looked like two kids treasuring their gifts on Christmas morning. The younger child digging into a box and holding a box of spaghetti while the other child held a victory pose. The family put in for public assistance and missed the poverty guidelines by three dollars. Yes, three dollars, so the mother was crying for joy. She’s been working seven days a week to keep food on the table and said to my colleague “maybe I will take a day off now that I know I have food for the week.”
While at the food bank, I met a woman who noticed our school spirit gear and proudly told me her daughter attended our school. Unfortunately, her daughter lost her life to fentanyl after she fell into a great depression having lost her own child to an illness a few years ago. The mother and I commiserated over the challenging nature of grief. We talked about the crisis and how it has impacted families in Ohio. Since her daughter’s death, she has been looking deeper into the issue and enlightened me on it. She said, she was shocked to learn that the drug has been arriving in this country from China. She wants people to know and will work on this issue hoping her daughter did not die in vain.
Biblical concepts of faith and grace are all well and good, but when the rubber meets the road, it’s hard to believe in these concepts unless you’ve seen the miracles at work in your own life. I’d like to think the parents of those children caught a glimpse of it this week. I’d like to think the grieving woman at the food bank did, too.
Thanks to people donating a dollar here and there to the Food Bank, children are receiving the food they need to survive. I think of those two girls and the hardship they’re facing on a daily basis while the parents put on a brave face. I showed my students the picture to prove to them that the volunteer work they are doing is meaningful and it brought wide smiles of satisfaction to them knowing they’d done their part.
By the way, the names of those two children are “Faith” and “Grace.”
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