Basic Necessities

I used to think that I was fairly self-reliant and capable of taking care of anything that came my way. I grew up on a farm; I could cook, sew and clean with the best of them. Then I moved to Guyana, where blackouts can happen at any time and last as long as they last. Water in New Amsterdam is available for several hours every day and must be collected for times when the water does not run or the electricity is off. Going to the supermarket is always an adventure. Even though packaged products arrive from Canada, New Zealand and other countries, you never know what will be on the shelves – it all depends on what happened to be on the boat.

Life in Guyana has reminded me of how much I relied on things that I used to take for granted. Things that I used to think of as basic necessities such as running water, indoor plumbing and a stove, are really extras; we can live without them.

There is one thing that I cannot live without, my reliance on God and the community of faith. Faith and life itself are not things that I have made or earned, it is a gift from our loving maker.

Creating God, thank you for taking care of us. Amen. — VSR