I Have These Needs

Yesterday as I shuffled backup files from old discs onto the new computer, I chanted a litany of needs.

I need this missing folder. I need that file. I need that photo. Where is that graphic file, I need it. I need to remember where this goes. I need another disc. I need a PDF copy. I need a hard copy. I need…

I kept saying and thinking things like that all day long.

My whining about my needs triggered a memory of a missionary story that I heard years ago:

A missionary to some impoverished third world country was invited to conduct a revival in a remote village. After days of travel through rough terrain, he arrived in the backcountry and was greeted by the local Christian pastor.

The pastor escorted him to a hut to stay with a church family.

Their poverty astounded him. Yet they generously gave him their only egg for supper and the father chased a goat out so there would be room on the floor to spread a sleeping mat. The large family gave him the best they had to offer in the way of hospitality.

Late in the evening, his host led the family in prayer and as they bedded down around a log fire on the floor, he drew the missionary aside and made a gracious offer:

“If there’s anything you need, anything at all, just let us know and we can show you how to get along without it”.