Enough is a Feast.

After being in Florida City for two years, I would have thought that some things would stop surprising me. I would have thought that I would be used to some things by now. However, there are days when I am still caught off guard by the little things that surround my everyday life in Florida City. One of these “little things” is the concept of generosity and sharing. I grew up in a home where I was taught to share at an early age. However, I am also becoming increasingly aware of that fact that I grew up as the spoiled baby of the family. Often times, my sister, who is four years older than me, would just cave and give me whatever I wanted simply to avoid a scene. Plus, with only two kids in the family, sharing is pretty easy. My sister and I would share toys, chores, beds, and food when we were younger and now we share clothes, accessories, friends, and taste in books and movies among other things. (Just not beds...I apparently kick and steal covers...)

Sharing is not hard. We are taught from an early age that we have to share. If you don't share, you're a rude kid and often punished. So, it's not a foreign concept – to anyone. However, the way it is done in Florida City is completely different from anything else that I have ever witnessed. When I was in middle school, my mom made me take my lunch to school everyday. She would buy healthy foods like bananas and peanut butter and fruit leather for me to pack in a cute lunch box and take to school. Now, I am thankful for these habits she instilled in me. However, in middle school, I was mortified. Everyone else bought their lunch and ate french fries and other various fried foods. I wanted nothing more than to eat these fried things. So, every day, I would ask my friends for them to share their french fries. And, most of the time they would. Sometimes, they would get fed up with me being a mooch. (Obviously appropriate...) However, on the off chance that my mother would let me buy lunch, I would buy my own french fries. And when my friends would ask me to share, I'd refuse. It's like I would completely forget their daily generosities and just get greedy.

This is what I think it's like for a lot of upper-middle class kids. (Which I would absolutely fall into the category of...) They expect everyone else to share, but then when it's their time to share, they don't want to. I think it's even the mindset of some adults, as well. However, in Florida City, they have adapted to their environment – they have discovered a way to survive. It's called sharing. It's a shocking concept, really. Apparently, when you have something that other people want, you give it to them. In fact, you offer it to them – you don't have to wait for them to ask. This happens in the smallest of instances at Branches and in Florida City. On a student's birthday, one of our volunteers always brings in a pack of gum as a gift. When they receive this gift, the very first thing this child will do is rip it open and give everyone in the room a piece. Let me tell you, at the age of 6, if I got a pack of gum, the first thing I would have done would have been run to my room, stuff six pieces in my mouth at once and then hide it under my mattress so my sister wouldn't get any.

I took a few of our youth out to eat at Wendy's last week as a “thank you” for their volunteer help at Summer Shade. There were 5 of them and I told them they could get whatever they wanted (first problem...) At first, I was kind of upset because between the five of them they ended up spending $60! (My fault for not giving them a limit...) But, just as I was conjuring up the “don't be so greedy” lecture in my head, I realized they were only eating half of their food – some of them only ate about a quarter of it. That's when I started to realize what was going on. They packed up the majority of their food to take home to their little brothers and sisters. That incident really got me thinking. If we had even an ounce of the generosity that these children have, our world would be completely different. Instead of everyone trying to be the best and have the most, we would share what we have been blessed with. And not because we're asked to – because we want to. Because we genuinely care about the welfare of others. Sometimes the troubles of our government, the politics of the church and workplace can really get me down. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the general hopelessness that I see on the television and read about in the paper. However, then something like this happens and I see these tiny glimpses of hope in this next generation and my faith is restored and I know that every little thing is gonna be alright.