For a Little Perspective

Today I drove an acquaintance to this church that has a free clothes closet. She was looking for a winter coat for her 14 year old son. His coat from last winter doesn't fit anymore. It was 34 degrees when he went out to catch the school bus this morning and he was cold because he didn't have a coat to wear.

Well, the church did not have any kids' coats at all. So then we stopped at a Salvation Army thrift store. She hoped she would find a coat to fit him and that she could afford it. They had exactly one coat in his size. It cost $3.85. She only had $3. I had exactly 81 cents in cash on me. A woman in line behind us gave her a nickle so she could buy the coat for her son.

The whole time, I was wishing I wasn't broke because I would have loved to have been able to drive her to Walmart and buy her a nice coat for her son. I can't imagine what it must be like as a mother to have to send your child out to catch the school bus with no coat when it's this cold because you cannot afford to spend more than $3 on one.

Stuff like this just makes my problems seem small.