Being Poor Is Hard!

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)

Mom, Mr. Mom, and the Little Ones

She was doing well in her career and enjoying her role as primary breadwinner for the family. Far from being jealous, he was proud of her accomplishments and glad to do his part as “Mr. Mom,” taking care of things at home and keeping a close watch over their delightful little children.

Neither of them expected that she would be diagnosed with cancer at such a young age. The serious nature of her illness requires that she receive medical treatments in the valley rather than Estes Park.

“With me being sick,” she wrote in an October 28, 2015, email to our case manager, “my husband is going to have to miss more work than expected.” On top of medical costs, and the travel time Mr. Mom sets aside to get his wife to chemotherapy and radiation, his own hours of employment have been reduced during the winter season.

“I’m writing,” she says, “in hopes that our family can still get help with a Thanksgiving meal and hopefully Christmas help for our little ones.”

Yes, her family will get a Thanksgiving meal. And thanks to our partnership with Bright Christmas, the little ones will not be overlooked at Christmastime. Crossroads has also seen to it that everyone in the family will have a warm winter coat, and plenty of tasty, nutritious food.

In addition to walking with them through the uncertainty, pain and loss, we’ve walked them through the process of applying for assistance from neighboring agencies, like the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP). With help from the Estes Park Extension of the Salvation Army, we helped the family make a difficult move to more affordable housing, and they gratefully received a small voucher to get essential household items from the Community Thrift Store.

“Thank you so very much for all the help you’ve provided us,” she says. “I can’t express my gratitude towards your understanding of my health battles. It really is such a blessing to be able to find comfort in knowing that we have Crossroads there to help us. We are so unbelievably thankful for everything.”

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

–Galatians 6:2 (NRSV)