Enough (09/03/2025)

My family moved to Sioux City, Iowa the summer of 1966. I missed my friends and my life back in Waycross, Georgia. So, when my father had to make a trip back to Waycross the next summer, he took me with him so I could visit my friends. The trip took two long days in the car, both ways. And Dad and I had some conversations I will always be grateful for and will always remember. One of them focused on “enough.”

Dad shared with me some of his childhood and the struggles his family endured because of poverty. He also shared that he wanted to do everything he could to make sure we kids, his kids, had “enough.” I could understand his desire, but I questioned his hope. “Don’t you want us to have all we can?”  He answered, “No, I want you to have enough but not everything. I’ve seen people who have everything, and they aren’t that happy.”

That summer, I thought Dad’s dreams and hopes for we kids fell short. But then several years later, after I married, had three children and understood struggles, my appreciation for my dad’s wish grew. I came to understand the gift of “enough.” And I’ve found myself praying for my own children and grandchildren that they have enough.

But I recognize that not everyone appreciates the concept of “enough.” We live in an era of super-sized helpings and “bigger is better.” I remember the movie “Mary Poppins” and her expression, “Enough is as good as a feast.” She got it. And I remember the movie “Sabrina”, the one filmed in 1995, where Sabrina explained to Linus Larabee “More isn’t always better, sometimes it’s just more.” How I wish we could move as a society to a deeper appreciation for “enough.”

Gratitude has a lot to do with whether or not we will be content with “enough.” If we can grow our sense of gratitude, recognizing the gifts given to us by our LORD as well as the kindnesses shown to us by others, we can come to appreciate that there is no true advantage to having more than what is necessary.

As we continue our individual spiritual journeys through this life, let us commit to working on our sense of gratitude. Let us also commit to being more conscious of the gifts we receive daily. Perhaps we can eradicate the discontent that appears to color our world.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.