What Will We Do With Our Abundance?

My backyard garden is in that wonderfully unruly stage of late summer when everything seems to ripen at once. There are zucchinis to pick, tomatoes weighing down their vines, cucumbers hiding beneath leaves and more produce arriving than my family can reasonably eat. It is a very tangible kind of abundance.

And lately, it has had me thinking about that word. What does abundance make possible? And what responsibility comes with having more than we need?

When There is Enough

At its best, abundance frees us.

When our basic needs are met, we have room to think beyond survival. We can be creative. We can plan for the future. We can rest. We can notice the needs of people around us and consider what we might have to share.

But abundance doesn’t automatically lead to generosity. It can also make it easier to become comfortable with the way things are, to forget what it feels like to worry about the next meal, the next rent payment or the next unexpected bill.

There is a long tradition in Catholic social teaching that says the goods of the world are meant to benefit everyone. I think there is something profoundly human in that idea, regardless of our individual faith traditions. What we have is not only a measure of our own security. It can also be a resource for building a stronger community.

The Weight of Not Having Enough

We see the other side of this every day at CCO.

Scarcity has consequences far beyond an empty refrigerator or an overdue bill. When someone doesn’t have enough to meet their basic needs, the decisions never stop. Which bill can wait? How far can the gas in the car stretch? Can the rent be paid and groceries purchased? What happens if a child needs new shoes this month?

Living with those calculations day after day creates enormous stress and leaves little room to recover from the next setback.

That’s why stability can sometimes look surprisingly ordinary.

It can be a bus pass that allows someone to get a new job until the first paycheck arrives. It can be an application fee that gives someone the chance to move into an apartment. It can be a pair of work boots required to start a job, or a security deposit that turns an approved apartment into a home.

Stability can mean having laundry facilities available before a job interview. It can mean a backpack filled with school supplies so a parent doesn’t have to choose between notebooks and groceries. It can mean having someone knowledgeable at your side while navigating a complicated immigration process.

These aren’t extravagant things. But at the right moment, one relatively small resource can change the direction of someone’s life.

What Do We Have to Share?

As summer begins to wind down, so does our Summer of Stability campaign.

Throughout this season, we’ve asked our community to help people move through difficult moments without losing the foothold they’ve worked so hard to gain. And there are many ways to do that.

Maybe your abundance right now is financial, and you can make a gift.

Maybe it’s time, and you can prepare a meal, volunteer or help with a community event.

Maybe it’s professional expertise, a connection, an idea, or simply the willingness to tell someone else about the work happening here.

Generosity doesn’t require extraordinary wealth. It begins with recognizing what we have and deciding that some of it can be shared.

A Season for Sharing

Soon the tomatoes will be gone. The zucchini plans will finally stop producing. Summer will give way to fall, and another growing season will end.

But I hope we carry something of this season’s abundance with us.

When there is enough on our own table, may we remember the neighbor who is still trying to find stability. When we have some margin in our lives, may we ask how we can use it. And when we have something to give – our resources, our talents, our time – may we choose to share it.

Perhaps the best measure of abundance isn’t how much we have. It’s what we’re able to make possible with it.