I saw them trudging through the slush leftover from heavy
snow the day before, during my morning commute to Crossroads Ministry a couple
of weeks ago. One of them was carrying a gasoline can as they huddled against
the wind on the sidewalk of northbound Highway 7.
When the two of them climbed into the car and thanked me for
offering a lift, the fellow in the front seat noticed my Crossroads Ministry
name badge. “Oh,” he said, “Crossroads helped a friend of mine get to his home
in [another state] a couple of weeks ago. He was in pretty bad shape, but he’s
doing much better now. We really appreciate the help Crossroads provided.”
They were headed to Safeway to pick up a MoneyGram, so that
they’d have enough cash to buy gasoline and make it to their job a few miles
away. Their truck did have a little gas left in the tank the night before, they
explained; but, because they were parked on an incline, it seems there wasn’t
quite enough fuel remaining to get the vehicle started that morning. Fortunately,
the MoneyGram they were expecting was indeed waiting for them at the grocery
store. We filled their plastic gas can, and I drove them back down Highway 7 to
their apartment parking lot.
After dropping them off, my first reaction to the little chain
of events was a warm feeling: How nice to meet two random persons in our
community and discover that Crossroads Ministry had made such an important
difference in the life of a friend only a few days earlier.
But the second reaction that gripped me was more overwhelming,
and more enduring: Being poor is hard!
You see, when I need gasoline, I simply pull out my wallet
and fill up the tank at my convenience. I enjoy the luxury of deciding when and
where to refuel depending on my schedule and the best available price per
gallon. During those seasons in my life when cash flow was tight, I could at
least resort to a credit card in order to proceed with the obligations before
me.
For these two working men, getting a tank of gas was an
ordeal that took an hour-and-a-half. To get even enough cash for fuel, they had
to make a trip to the store and pay fees they could scarcely afford for the
MoneyGram. Moreover, apart from the frustration of a vehicle that unexpectedly
would not start on a bitterly cold morning, they both suffered hours of lost
wages due to the delays.
Being poor is hard! Simple tasks become complicated. Small
complications quickly become costly. Trying to get by from day to day leaves
little time for trying to get ahead and little opportunity for
self-improvement. An unexpected medical bill or car repair can be catastrophic.
For the working poor, seniors trying to live on low fixed
incomes, the temporarily unemployed, single parents or persons with
disabilities who are struggling to make ends meet, and in countless other
difficult situations and circumstances, Crossroads Ministry strives to practice Christian love by providing
basic human services to residents of the Estes Valley who are in need.
Being poor is hard!
We are thankful for the compassionate hearts and cheerful labors of volunteers,
donors, and our many partners in ministry as we endeavor to lighten the load
one person, one family, one need at a time.
All the days of the
poor are hard, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. –Proverbs 15:15
(NRSV)
