Pursuit of Happyness

I saw a movie this week, The Pursuit of Happyness. It was a good little adventure about a man who wouldn't give up on himself. But what struck me is the conditions in life that some people have to put up with. I have soooo much materially and yet I sometimes feel poor. Is it my greed speaking those words of discouragement to me? I have a flaw in the area of materialism and often have the feeling of needing more. God is showing me over and over that want and need are not the same thing and that I can fight inappropriate wants by giving them to Him. More of Him is what I really need.

I have never slept in a shelter, or subway or a public bathroom. I have never been able to or had to carry everything I own around with me all day, because I had no where to leave it. I have never had fear for keeping my children safe. I have never done my laundry in a sink, because there was no money for the laundramat. I've never become desperate for the $14.00 someone might owe me. I've never been homeless or even had that prospect enter my mind.

I so rarely put myself in someone else's shoes. Yet I am called to do just that. May my ears be opened to hear that call more clearly and more often.