Enough

When my son Jude was 7 years old, he told me about a peer in his class who smelled “funny.” As I asked specific questions to better understand his use of the word “funny,” I discovered that he wasn’t the only one aware of the offensive body odor. Other students had started to notice and avoid their peer, a trend we didn’t want to continue. I assured Jude I would check with his teacher to get her thoughts on how to address this delicate situation. 

The next day, Jude overheard a conversation in which this peer said to the teacher, “When I can’t find any clean clothes, I dig in the dirty clothes basket to find something.” Through tears, Jude said, “Mom, we have to do something.” 

With my big kids in tow, we drove to Target to gather supplies. Later, we filled a box, wrapped it, appropriately labeled it, and dropped it off at school, pleased to maintain our anonymity. Whether the increase in wardrobe options was a help for this student, I’ll never really know but Jude told me his peer grew animated over “the box that someone gave me” and the smell in his classroom seemed to fade.

Two years later, I’m still trying to fathom how a clothing crisis (as in, “I literally have no clean item to wear”) would happen in our home. While our closets and drawers aren’t exactly bursting, we certainly have enough. Our kids could probably go 2 weeks without wearing the same shirt twice. And even if they couldn’t, we have the time and the resources to wash and dry our clothes, a basic need that, we discovered, is not so common in every place. 

Sometimes what I perceive as a necessity (even a nagging chore) is a rarity for another. When my enough slams into another’s need, I am humbled and often feel compelled to act. This compulsion doesn’t make me a savior or some proud do-gooder but it does build my empathy and compassion. 

Seems I’m continually learning not only to to give thanks for what I have but to wisely use it to serve beyond myself. This laundry basket is a tangible reminder to generously use my enough to respond when the Spirit nudges me to act.