It's the day after Thanksgiving and I have an abundance of things to be thankful for. My blessings are now called "first-world problems." I object to this label. There are many things in life none of us control, but getting up and going to mind a job, to work under the authority of another, has definitely been under my control. I didn't have to do it.
But I do it every day, and I have since the age of sixteen.
It's not that difficult.
I understand the difference between the blessings bestowed by family and the "blessings" my own hard work have brought to my life. And I know where they all came from.
Yesterday, we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Today, my refrigerator is full of leftovers. I do know what a blessing this is. Abundance, even when you work for it, is a gift from God. God provides [EQUAL] opportunities to all.
Our current culture, our "correct" thinkers, tell us we should be sorry, that we should apologize, for our opportunities and our gifts from God. I don't espouse to that way of thinking. I'm grateful for the work ethic my parents and grandparents taught me. That work ethic has allowed me to provide for myself and to appreciate the gifts from family. I would not have received those gifts if I had not been working hard. They would have gone to others while I sat and watched.
Too many people today talk about white privilege. It's a load of bunk. If you are not hired for a job, it doesn't matter the color of the skin of the person who told you that you didn't get the position. That was God keeping that door closed so a better one could open. God may have kept that door closed for your protection! Go find that better door! Go find that better apartment! Go find that better car! God WILL open the right door at the right time. I've lived it. I know.
My too-full refrigerator isn't about the color of my skin or the money I've earned. It's about walking through the doors God opened for me. It's about not sitting back and crying when something didn't go my way. It's about, sadly enough, leaving certain individuals behind. When God removes someone from your life, you need to let them go.
Giving back isn't about the grand gestures. It isn't about financing an addict's lifestyle. It's not about enabling their enabler to continue. Giving back is about quietly supporting another person so that they can find that open door. Giving back may be explaining what better choices are available to them. Empowerment is not enabling. Learn the difference because it's crucial.
I'm not missing the point of it all. I'm standing up and declaring there is nothing about my life that is even remotely responsible for someone else's bad choices. I'm simply refusing to bow to societal demands that I apologize for every aspect of my life when I know it was ultimately God who provided equally for me and everyone else. God does not play favorites. Choose your doors wisely.
The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)
