Rich

 As a teacher, I will never be rich.

I will seldom, if ever, have expendable money.

I will rarely not think about how much something costs.

I will almost always wonder if I spent too much on a meal or a purchase.

Thankfully, being single and living with my parents allows me to have enough.

But if either of those things differed, then I would struggle to make ends meet,

Much less come on this vacation that my aunt has gifted me with.

We are surrounded by rich people.

We are surrounded by people who have traveled to so many places that they don’t always care to see more.

I have heard more than one person on this trip say, “I can only see so many museums and churches. I don’t want to see anymore.”

Maybe I could get to that place?

I don’t know.

I just know that I never want to get to a place of complacency—

To a place where I lose my sense of awe—

To a place that I have so much that I begin taking things for granted—

Like a sunset or moon rise or boat ride or waterfall.

I have seen so much on this trip.

Heard so much history.

Been to so many places.

There is no way I will remember it all.

But I hope that I will never forget the feeling of gratitude that I feel for being able to travel the world—

For being reminded that I am just one part of a much larger whole—

For seeing the vast beauty of God’s creation.

Dear God: I may never be rich by the ways of this world, but I am beyond rich in gratitude and thanksgiving. May I—may we—never reach a point of complacency in awe—even if life never takes us far from home. Amen.