Enoughness

"We live in a culture that sees having things as a measure of our success." Joan Chittester

Our conversations over the last month seem to center on the weight of our material goods, the things that "tie us to the earth."  This is much on our minds as two of our group have children who are struggling to find jobs in a world with few. Our children our struggling to find their way in the world, to make a success of their lives, to feel that they are enough -- and this has little to do with conspicuous consumption and accumulation of goods.  They struggle to find meaningful work, work which contributes to the community and to the world, work which uses the talents and gifts.  Many of those out of work have abandoned such lofty goals; they struggle simply to find jobs to feed their families, to subsist; this would be enough

So each gave thanks for the bounty we have; we are grateful for our bounty; we are aware that we have more than enough.  But we also realize these things don't make us who we are in the eye of God.  We pray for those who are seeking jobs, for those who do not have enough. 

We ask God to temper our greed, to help us to be content with less and know that this is enough.