Angi Aymond

When I was a freshman in college, I had my first experience in conducting inventory for an arts and craft store. A mini hobby lobby before there was a Hobby Lobby.

That ‘job opportunity’ was brutal for me. It wasn’t that it was laborious; it was frustrating. As inventory goes, or as I understood it, we were to be counting items on hand. All items. Specific items with an accurate count of each.

But that’s not what happened. I was encouraged to just throw things in baskets and count! We didn’t organize baskets with like items. There were just hundreds of items in the baskets all willy nilly.

“What? But that’s not how you do inventory. That can’t be right.”

I wasn’t what you’d call a details person per se, but I was pretty sure inventory was ALL about the details. But I counted unlike items and made tally marks. Sigh.

Well. That was my introduction to counting inventory. And it was inventory gone bad.

Maybe that little intro to inventory was a foretelling of my personal life. I have not always been great at taking inventory of things that really matter. My measuring instrument for gratitude was a bit broken,  focusing on what wasn’t instead of what was. Too many times.

But yesterday, I was sitting and thinking. (Some of you might call it daydreaming.) Having been recently challenged to consider the many ways God has met my needs, I was deep in thought. And, I began to juxtapose needs and wants.

My mind trekked back about 40 years to Psy 101 and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – that color-coded pyramid most always revealed in early psychology clasees. I needed a refresh, so I Googled it.

This many years later, I could and would argue with Maslow a bit over it. But that little pyramid is a good starting place.

At the bottom of the pyramid are physiological needs such as air, water, food, shelter, clothing, and sleep. (There’s another, but Abe and I would argue over it.) Basic human needs. Without these, we die. These are basic needs for surviving, not thriving.

Most of you reading this (I’d be willing to say all of you) probably don’t worry too much about any of those things.

First of all is air to breathe. I think I can reasonably assert that none of us think about breathing. Until we get sick with an illness that makes it difficult to do so. And then as soon as we are well again, we give it no thought. (Of course, there are those of you who may suffer with conditions that make breathing difficult on a more regular basis. And I understand you are much more aware and grateful for the days when your breathing is easier.) But perhaps we should take inventory of even the most basic need of life, and not take it for granted.

Then there is the need for water. Personally, I have water at my fingertips and bottled in my pantry. My husband and I waste about 2 gallons of water every morning waiting for the hot water to reach the shower.

Water we have. In abundance. Obviously, excess. But do we stop to take inventory? Count it as a blessing? Or do we just take it for granted?

Food anyone? Though there are times I can’t decide if I want to eat what I have or prefer the choices at a local eatery, I have food. In my pantry, fridge, and freezer. Or the closest restaurant. In abundance. Maybe even excess. Do I take inventory and give thanks? Or take it all for granted. Count it as deserved? Earned?

I live indoors, and I bet you do as well. Out of the heat and the cold. Protected from rain, frost, and creatures. Comfortable and safe. But how often do I focus on what I would like to change about my shelter? The aesthetics? New furniture? A bathroom makeover? Do I take inventory or take it all for granted?

As far as clothing goes, I’m not a typical female. I have a large closet that is mostly empty. But, I’m not in danger of walking out of my home naked. I may not be ready for the runway, but I am fully covered. It’s tempting to ‘if and but’ my way through this one, even when I take inventory. But I can see the items hanging in my closet. I also remember with ease that each piece is laundered in the comfort of my home, water at my fingertips, heated with the push of a button. Inventory complete. Provision in abundance.

These needs form the foundation of survival. Basic needs. But because these needs are so basic, we have come to see them as intrinsic rights of being human. And I won’t argue that I’d hope each human on the planet was given them, but they are not. Visit a third-world country. Brave an inner city in our own country. Look past your own walls.

So today, can I encourage you to ‘daydream’ with me? Take an inventory of your own. Count your blessings, beginning with your most basic needs. See them for what they are: blessings in abundance. Perhaps even excess.

After you’ve counted, give thanks to the One who has been gracious to you.

I mentioned earlier that these needs were not automatically met for every human. Often, we who are blessed can be the vehicles of grace and mercy God uses to provide for others. So then, when you find yourself blessed in abundance, let God use you to bless others. Be part of God’s supply chain.

 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

PHILIPPIANS 4:19