Mud Brick Mansion

I could feel the sun’s smoldering breath on my neck as we trudged along the uneven dirt street. For some reason I had agreed to walk home from church with Cindy and Damaris, two of the young girls from the Hogar, even though I was tired. We passed dirt houses with crooked wooden fences and half starved dogs in the shade. I tried not to stare, but brightly colored laundry caught my eye, poverty's meager flags of surrender. I clutched my Bible tightly, my other hand caught in Damaris' sweaty grasp. We had taken this back way so we could stop by Cindy's house. Even though both of her parents are alive and live within five minutes of the Hogar, they are not able to take good care of her.

It was only coincidence that my eyes fell on the neatly printed sign on one of the houses. It read, "Jesús es mi Pastor. Con Él, nada me faltará," which translates to, "Jesus is my Shepherd, with Him I will lack nothing." There were no fancy cars in the driveway, in fact they didn't even have a drive way. This wasn't Better Homes and Gardens material. Faded flowery curtains hung limply in the window of the mud brick structure. I sighed. By most standards, maybe by American standards, this family was definitely lacking. In fact, I was quite certain they lacked running water and electricity, not to mention the house consisted of no more than two rooms. They even lacked grass in their tiny yard. Images of over-sized houses and yards came to mind as I pictured homes I'd seen in the States. I can imagine conversations floating out of airy windows, conversations about needing to pick up more mayonnaise from the store or buying a bigger washer [because the one they already have can't hold all the clothes the family goes through in one day]. I can imagine kids complaining at the supper table because they don't like the food and mothers scraping uneaten platefuls into large trashcans overflowing with waste.
With Him I will lack nothing. My mind flashed back to reality. Who is really lacking? Is it the family who goes to sleep at night on empty stomachs or the one that can't sleep because they've eaten too much? Is it the one who can count their possessions on two hands or the one who needs more hands to carry the contents of their overflowing garage to storage?

Are you lacking?