Things That Tug At Your Heartstrings

This post was going to be about research for writing projects. Really, that was what I was going to tackle. I had some resources lined up, I had some clever thoughts. Then, I read an article on the cost of poverty from the Washington Post that broke my heart.

Here’s the thing: we all know what it’s like to feel as though the system is working against us. I’ve been there. You know, the days where it seems like even the libraries are trying to get their hand in your pockets. (They aren’t, by the way. You really just have to look at the date on that little sticker).

This article details how much tougher it can be… the added cost of not having a washing machine or the cost of not having a car to get to a big grocery store.

From page 1:

Like food: You don’t have a car to get to a supermarket, much less to Costco or Trader Joe’s, where the middle class goes to save money. You don’t have three hours to take the bus. So you buy groceries at the corner store, where a gallon of milk costs an extra dollar.

A loaf of bread there costs you $2.99 for white. For wheat, it’s $3.79. The clerk behind the counter tells you the gallon of leaking milk in the bottom of the back cooler is $4.99. She holds up four fingers to clarify. The milk is beneath the shelf that holds beef bologna for $3.79. A pound of butter sells for $4.49. In the back of the store are fruits and vegetables. The green peppers are shriveled, the bananas are more brown than yellow, the oranges are picked over.

(At a Safeway on Bradley Boulevard in Bethesda, the wheat bread costs $1.19, and white bread is on sale for $1. A gallon of milk costs $3.49 — $2.99 if you buy two gallons. A pound of butter is $2.49. Beef bologna is on sale, two packages for $5.) (© 2009 The Washington Post Company.)

That is heartbreaking. To never be able to get ahead, because you’re always getting knocked down a little more — how much of that can a person take?

What an opportunity for people to help out. People of faith need to step up and assist. A great opportunity exists in my hometown — the grocery store in town closed a couple of months ago. The population that doesn’t have vehicles is stuck buying consumables at the gas station or convenience stores. The situation, in essence, has gone from bad to worse. Here’s an opportunity for some group, anyone, really, to set up some sort of a weekly or monthly shuttle down the road five miles to Wal-Mart to help these folks out. You know, give them a hand.

I was reminded this evening that you’re to give as you’ve been given to. As those who have been given the most on an eternal level, we have the highest calling to give back. So lets get to it!