When Faith was a little girl she owned one dress-just one. She and her mother had to dig in the Ugandan soil for potatoes just to survive.
When I was a little girl, I had dozens of dresses. My mother was able to stay home with my sister and I in our California home because my dad was able to provide for us all.
Though we grew up on opposite ends of the spectrum, Faith and I were both extraordinarily blessed - just in very different ways.
- Emily, Faith and Natalie in front of Tororo Rock. Uganda, 2005.
One day while little faith was wearing the only dress she owned, a missionary gave her a new dress. She was ecstatic- overflowing with unbelievable joy that she now had two dresses! TWO! That meant she had one to wear while she washed the other. She was bursting with unbridled delight.
But then something happened that tested little Faith. Her mother sat her down, and told her gently that since she had been blessed with a dress, she needed to give her old dress away. She explained that a blessing has to be passed on.
Of course, little Faith was distraught! How could her mother say such a things? She finally had 2 dresses. It wasn't fair to ask her to give one away. It was not easy for her and many tears were shed, but she did indeed give her old dress away.
And today, Faith does not regret it one bit.
Upon hearing this story I was forced to ask myself an uncomfortable question:
What would I have done?
If I found myself just fighting to survive, and then told to give away one of the only two things I owned, I have a sneaking suspicion I might have become more than a little jaded and indignant. I imagine I would have stomped my feet and locked away my treasures, ready to fight to the death to protect what was mine. I wouldn't be feeling particularly thankful or faithful in a time like that. But Faith’s mother insisted that she give, and instilled something very valuable in her daughter’s heart.
We have grown so accustomed to our blessings that we often forget just how much we have. We hoard our earthly treasures, terrified of losing them, all the while craving more. Despite our abundance, we struggle to grasp faith –perhaps because we’re holding onto everything else so tightly.
Yet, growing up with so little, Faith learned to treasure something intangible and trust that her Lord would come through for her. She clung to the promises of God-after all, they were all she had. And she found the Lord was faithful. To say that life was a struggle would be a massive understatement, but that struggle shaped her in such a beautiful way. She is a now a woman who is grateful for each day and each breath. She has a little thing called faith.
