Words from Dic(tionary)

Afford: (v) can/could have enough money to pay for

It was not a good sound.

Reaching to touch the switch on my power window, I heard a grinding crunch instead of a glorious swish. After that, my power window stopped working. Well, at least the window wouldn’t go up and down, which meant that it was caught between closure and the position one might use on a hot summer afternoon in July.

Unfortunately, it was not July. It was October in Pennsylvania, where “no breeze” was welcome.

The first thing that came to my mind was I don’t want a broken window. The second thing was I’m pissed off because my window’s broken.

Which led to the normal third human assessment: I can’t afford this.

Now you see–my conclusion was correct. The repair on such an apparatus is always expensive because … well, because they’ve decided it can be. It was in that moment that I came to a divine revelation–life is really about transforming our first thoughts into better thoughts.

If the first inkling is “why me?” life will be more than willing to explain in vivid detail the neglect which led to the interruption and will also provide many other examples before you have the chance to recover from the initial trauma.

There is a wise thought which should enter our minds when we are suddenly affronted by reality. It is in two parts:

1. What have I got?
2. What can I legitimately do?

Blended together, they form the inspired interrogative: what can I afford?

The truth was, I could not afford to fix my window to complete satisfaction, but I could afford to have somebody open up the door, get the window back in the closed position, tie it up and live without a power window. Is it ideal?

No–which is perfect, considering the fact that I’m not ideal.

An inventory of who I am is the subtotal of my talent, invaded by mishap, with a bit of humility, demonstrated to my Creator, allowing for His grace.

I like the mixture.

• If you don’t, you will probably find yourself complaining more than praising.
• And if you don’t, you will probably miss the opportunity to do something great because you’re busy lamenting the loss of something lesser.

Poverty is not a certain number at the bottom line of the bank account. Rather, it is a dark place in our beings, where we begin to believe that what we have … is just never enough.