By Ariane Williams

Payday. The day that you have been waiting for in your racing mind. But then, the thought hits you like a gust of wind. After you pay everything, you will not have anything left. Emptiness consumes you. Doubt traps you. Fear claims you. To add to this sudden feeling of emptiness, you get into the car and realize that the gas is almost on empty. You are optimistic, thinking that you can make it to where you are going, when you suddenly hear that “beep.”

Your last “enough” has to go into the gas tank. Your last enough has to go towards lunch money for the kids. Your last enough has to be counted to the penny as you pick up things in the grocery store. Your last enough has to go towards a last-minute school project that you are just finding out about. Your last enough has to go towards that last bill that you forgot about. Your last enough is not enough. Now, you have nothing. Is your enough good enough?

Just the other day, two of my children asked me for some orange juice. When I looked at the bottle, I did not see “enough.” How could I share this little bit of orange juice with them? One would be angry with the amount; the other one would be satisfied with the amount. I took out two cups, placed them side by side, and began to pour the orange juice into the cups. I was cautious as I was making sure that I was pouring just “enough” in both cups to satisfy a potential future argument. I had to pour in; I had to pour out. I was making the proper adjustments. All of this for some orange juice?

Guess what? It was just enough. Uncertainty and doubt made me believe that there was not going to be enough. Uncertainty and doubt frustrated me; it chained me. Uncertainty and doubt will have you feeling like you do not have enough when you have plenty. You just need to make the proper adjustments. Keep pouring in and pouring out until there is a balance.

There is value in your enough. The bottle may look empty now, but as your perspective changes, so will your enough. Don’t be fooled by the lack in your life. Your lack is getting ready to be multiplied in all areas of your life. You will have more than enough to pour. We are living in wasteful times. We look at people, and we want their “shoes” to walk in their lives. Little do we know that their shoes are too small for our big journey. It will never fit. We look at their physical plenty and forget about the mental plenty that can move us from one place to the next place.

The rent may be due; the bills may keep piling up; the calls may not stop; you may have lost your job; your friends may have walked away from you when you needed them; or you may have given up. If you look back at all those times when you thought that you were not going to make it, you will see that you did make it on “just enough.”

Ariane Williams is a teacher, minister, published author, and liturgical dancer. Email her at arianewilliams810@yahoo.com.