“I Must Satisfy”

By Tol Burk

In Langley Park, St. Vincent there was a little, old, rundown wood house that sits between the road and the sea. It is about 12 feet by 16 feet, including the porch. Our sister Esmie Da Souza lived there and it was on the way to the church building so I had reason to examine it. In the morning, when she was cooking on her coal pot (a very small “grill”) the porch and even the house, would be full of smoke. When in her 60’s, she could only carry one or two gallons of water at a time from the standpipe a block or so from the house. The roof leaked in many places, so when it rained hard she didn’t have enough pots to catch all the drips. Being so small, the heat inside the house during the day was unbearable, so most afternoons she would sit in the shadow of an abandoned block house next door. One day we were talking and Sister Da Souza told of the problems with her little house, but being a widow with no children and a very small pension from the government she said, “Even though it’s not much of a house, I must satisfy.” And “satisfy” she did—she shared with Gillium and I the next year--two yams and two dasheens from her garden, so we could “taste the fruits of the land”. She also tried to feed our son Paxx the next year, but he left the next day so she wasn’t able to.

Brethren, do we “satisfy”? Sister Da Souza had clothing, she worked in her garden most days, so she had vegetables to eat, chicken some days. She was in reasonable good health and had the Lord and the church to care for her. What else did she really need? “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing with these we shall be content.” (1 Tim. 6:9-10) Brethren, do we ever “satisfy”? Or does your “wanter” (as Bradley would say) always seem to be wanting something else? “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Tim. 6:6) We are truly rich in this world’s goods, but often we’re still not satisfied. We live in a wonderful time, with so many time and labor saving marvels, but it’s not enough. And what do we do with the time we have saved? Spend it on ourselves or use it for the Lord’s work? We would do well to “satisfy” because to do otherwise only leads to problems. Paul told Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” “But I don’t want to be rich; I just want to be comfortable.” Brethren, every one of us is rich in this country. Our “just a little more” attitude can turn into greediness easily. What about you?

There is a happy ending to this story, showing how God cares for His children. One morning while Sister Da Souza was in the garden, the roof of her little house fell in. Obviously the house wasn’t worth rebuilding, which is what would be necessary to repair it. The church paid for the roofing and several of the neighbors pitched in and rebuilt the abandoned block house where Sister Da Souza used to hide from the sun’s heat. That “mansion” lasted her until she recently moved to a Home for the Aged near Kingstown. She was willing to “satisfy” and when calamity struck the Lord provided not only a shelter, but a much larger home for her needs.

I was looking forward to seeing Sister Da Souza again on my recent trip to St. Vincent. As we left the village and passed what had been her house it looked like it had the first time I saw it—just bare block walls—no roof, no windows, no doors. I feared the worst, as the hospitals in St. Vincent are not the best (I learned that very personally this time). But when I spoke to the preacher, Elvis Daniels, he assured me that she was still living and in reasonably good health—she was now living in a Home for the Aged about an hour away. I’ve not seen it, but know from those I have seen on other islands it’s probably not much, but our dear sister learned sometime back to “satisfy” with the little she had because she looked forward to a home in heaven