Today a friend honored me by asking me to read a compilation of stories she has written about her “growing up days.” She was born in 1923 and experienced the Great Depression first hand.
So far, I’ve only had time to skim a random story here and there, but one thing has already caught my attention. Though it is clear that her family was more blessed than some in the hard times of the 1930s, poverty and hunger were not strangers in her family’s home.
While growing up I was taught to turn off lights when I left a room. My parents were about the same age as my friend and had also experienced the Great Depression. At my home thrift was a commandment, not a suggestion.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without” was a mantra that made me cringe as a child. I knew it meant I wasn’t going to get whatever I was wanting at the time, but I never went hungry. I occasionally had cardboard inside my shoes to cover a thin spot in the sole, but I always had shoes.
Like so many people today, I’m worried about my family’s finances. Things are tough during times like these when you make your living selling things that aren’t necessities. People have to eat, they don’t have to have another throwback baseball jersey. People have to be able to get to their jobs, they don’t have to have incense burners, handmade Navajo soap or personalized hoodies. All of that adds up to lean times, but our parents and grandparents lived through times that were much worse.
I need to quit whining to myself and count my blessings. That doesn’t mean I’m going to quit working as hard as possible to make things better. It doesn’t mean that I am just going to throw up my hands and say I’m doing all I can. It does mean that I will continue to share what I have with those who are less fortunate than myself and be grateful that I have anything to share.
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I wonder if charitable giving goes up or down in a bad economy like we have now. I know that special contributions are up at our church, but I don’t know about organizations like United Way. A down economy sure offers a lot more opportunities for giving.
Our society idealizes youth and too often overlooks the wealth of wisdom our elders have gained through their many years of experience. There is so much we can learn from our parents and grandparents if we will take the time to listen.
We are experiencing bad economic times now, but nothing at all like the widespread poverty and desperation of the 1930s. Let us pray that we don’t see days like that.
Thrift is a word you don’t even see any more. People don’t know the world and not many people know the concept. We need to start using that word more and teaching our kids the meaning of being thrifty. Thrift is a virtue no matter what the economy is like.