What is enough?

This week we've seen many reminders that we are living in the middle of a global economic crisis. While we remain rather disconnected from many of the repercussions that you are experiencing in the states, here we are surrounded by families who are deperately trying to make ends meet. The radio tells its listeners every morning that companies are letting people go by the hundreds and we know the job market is even more difficult than normal when we speak to our friends. Several friends have even commented that they are worried they too will be losing their jobs soon. The most noticible sign of Mexico's weakening economy is the inflation rate and the strength of the peso. When we arrived here in August the exchange rate was 9.5 pesos to 1 American dolar. This week the exchange rate soared to almost 15 pesos per dolar. As you can imagine the prices of produce and other items have gone up and people are struggling. The truth is that we will never know what it is like to struggle in the exact same way as some of our Mexican friends. We know that if there was an emergency and we had to fly home tomorrow we could make a phone call and fly home. What a strange and sometimes very unfair world we live in. We cannot offer money to every person who has a financial need, but we can offer the hope of a Savior who promises he is with us amid difficult times. God doesn't promise us riches or a life free from suffering, but he does promise us a life of freedom in him. We love the quote used by Compassion International that states "The opposite of poverty isn't wealth. The opposite of poverty is enough." What is enough for ourselves? What is enough for our neighbors? Often these questions are extremely difficult to answer, but they are ones that we must continue to ask ourselves as we try to live in a world where the reality is so many people are lacking "enough."