Surviving Financially

LOC: Noah Garland's barns and home on the hillside, Appalachian Kentucky, 1940.

Many of us are struggling financially. The culture around us is debt-ridden and debt - dependent. This brings about an illusion of suffering. What do I mean by that? Well, if we live in America, "wealth" (compared to third world countries), our standard of living, our standard of "need" becomes distorted.   We think that if we don't have a new vehicle, we are poor.  We think that if we don't have a nice house to live in, we are poor.  We think that if we don't have enough money to go on vacation, or that we don't have enough gas money to go out for a drive, we are poor.  We think that if we can't buy junk food today, we are poor.  This has taken away a great deal of our courage in financial survival.

We have become weak, and pampered, when it comes to standard of living.

Last summer, I wrote about how my car died.  I have not driven at all since then. It has now been 6 months.  I have been mostly home-bound, other than an occasional ride I get to the market.   Shortly after this happened, my husband's van needed repairs that we couldn't afford. So he started "Yankee - style" repairs on his old Cadillac and got it to barely run.   It has failed him repeatedly in the last few months and is on the verge of dying.  He is now getting rides to and from work from co-workers.  We have old cars.  We obviously need a new one.  We have no debt, and little savings, so we must save and scrimp until we have the money for one.  We have suffered for the last 6 months, but we know that we are going to be okay.

It used to be that people had to walk many miles each day.  They had to work much harder to grow, gather and preserve food.  Today, we have buses and cars and large supermarkets. We don't have to make clothes for our entire family, we can buy them inexpensively.  There is less worry and less work.  We have it much easier.   Yet, when hard times come, when it takes more effort to pay the heating bill, or make food from scratch because we cannot afford the high costs, we have to bravely face each day and know that we are going to be okay.  We need a good outlook and a good attitude.  We need cheerful courage.

This is the Pioneer Spirit. It is the Immigrant Spirit.  We work very hard, we take on the task at hand, live the lot we've been given to our very best, and we wait until the blessing comes.  We work on through the dark, dreary days, waiting for the Spring, or the Rainbow of reward.  Good things will come.  The fruit of our patience and hard work will happen if we don't give up.

In the meantime, we keep praying and making do.  God is with us. Praise Him in all things. We can do this!

Blessings
Mrs. White


From the Archives:

Remembering my Childhood - When Television was Special.

The beauty of a formal morning table - Breakfast at Home.

Mother's work - The Pleasant Task of Cleaning. 

 

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For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:

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"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"

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