Journey
Living from an Abundance of Faith, Love, and Hope
Many migrants are coming from a situation of poverty. They have a dream for a better life.
“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So, He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” Luke 21:1-4
Reflecting on this Biblical story, I realize that I have never played the role of the widow who gives from a place of poverty. However, I have been blessed to receive the widow’s two mites over and over during my lifetime.
When I lived in Sicuani, a town in the Andean Mountains of Peru, it was not uncommon for people who had very little materially to share what they had with their neighbors and even with a “foreigner” like me who was living among them. I remember walking for hours one day to reach an elementary school in one of the outlying communities of Sicuani. A woman, sitting in a field tending a fire and roasting potatoes that she had just harvested, invited the other sister and me to sit down and share her banquet. We added the little we had … one orange and a handful of lemon candies. It was enough for the three of us, and there were even leftovers!
Elaine Anderson at the Rio Grande River (US-Mexico border)
My ministry with migrants has brought me many blessings of a similar kind. Several years ago, I met a woman from Venezuela who was migrating to the US with her husband. Verónica was about my age, and I marveled at her courage to uproot herself and leave behind all that she had known to start a new life in the US. I soon came to realize that what Verónica grieved most was not the material possessions but rather the family members she had left in Venezuela. She told me that what drew her to me was that I had eyes the same color as her mother-in-law… a ninety-year-old woman who was fragile and could not make the journey with her son and daughter-in-law. As I walked Verónica to the security line at the airport, she began to search among her meager possessions. What she did next was a complete surprise to me. She gave me a COVID face mask that she herself had made and then asked me to remember her and to pray for her mother-in-law. And in receiving the little Verónica had to offer me, our relationship changed! I was forever bound to her.
Most US citizens cannot imagine themselves uprooting their families for a better life… maybe because many of them are already living the good life. Social media has portrayed the US as a place of plenty… where there is an abundance of money, food, cars, and any kind of resource imaginable. It is no wonder that migrants choose the US as their place of destination. They see it as a place where there is enough for everyone, including others who come from different countries. Unfortunately, the poor and marginalized living in the US know the truth. There may be enough, but that does not necessarily mean that those who have an abundance want to share it with others, even if the less fortunate are US citizens.
Casa del Migrante in Mexico.
Is the desire to live simply a goal of people who already have more than enough? I have never heard a migrant say, “I am coming to the US with my family to live simply.” Many migrants are coming from a situation of poverty. Their desire is to give their children and family a life where there is enough food and where there are opportunities for education and employment. They have a dream for a better life, not only for themselves but also for those whom they have met on the journey and for us who will be their neighbors. For many, that dream was wiped away with an executive order and one stroke of a pen that terminated the CBP One app (Customs and Border Protection) which was their legal way to enter the US.
As I reflect on what it means to live simply, I cannot help but wonder what good it will do if we do not also share the wealth that we have with those who have less. It seems that we need to examine our motivation and inspiration for living simply. Our migrant brothers and sisters have much to teach us about what is important in life, namely, family and relationships. They, too, live from their abundance, but it is not a wealth of material goods that they have, but rather an abundance of faith, love, and hope.
