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I could not get comfortable in bed this morning. It was 9:30, later than I had slept since football season started in July. It was our first Saturday to sleep late in forever, and I was planning to make it last as long as possible.

But our mattress has gotten to be unbearable these days. It seems almost new to me - some dear Missouri friends bought it for us when we moved to California seven years ago. But I guess the mattress has doubled as a trampoline one too many times, because it's just not comfy anymore.

As I tossed and turned, I wondered if mothers in Africa who sleep on mats and dirt floors complain about waking up with aching bodies.
I wondered if Asfaw, the little girl we support in Ethiopia, complains about her sleeping accommodations.

If Asfaw's mom got to go to Winco and buy 15 bags of groceries, would she complain about how much work it was to bag the groceries herself, load them into her 8-passenger Suburban, and put them away when she got home. I doubt it.

And what about her closet? She probably doesn't have one. But if she did, I can't imagine her looking in my closet and saying "You've got nothing to wear!"

There's this verse that my mom has never liked. And I'm beginning not to like it either:

"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes…You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you… You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter."

Now, this verse does not entirely apply to me because I don't refuse to pay people who work for me (unless you're including all the stuff I buy from China). But compared to most of the world's population, I am rich. And hoarding my wealth in the last days is NOT something I want to be accused of.

And I certainly don't want to be arrogant and ungrateful for what I do have!!

So the next time I go grocery shopping, I'll be grateful that I can buy something for my family to eat.

And in the morning when it's time to get up, I'll be thankful for a warm blanket, a mattress-turned-trampoline, several different outfits, and a house with doors and windows to keep out the cold.

And I'll be dreaming of more ways to give away what I do have.

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

The Best Ace