Did you wake in a warm bed this morning?  Did you stretch leisurely before throwing back the warm comforter and plodding to the bathroom for a hot shower?  Did you have difficulty choosing what to wear from your overflowing closet?  Did you skip breakfast even though the pantry was stocked with Raisin Bran and bagels?

Imagine if the home you woke up in was so drafty that your nose ran all night.  Imagine having to sponge bathe or risk getting sick from showering in the frigid water because your hot water had been turned off.  Imagine if your family’s entire wardrobe fit into one small dresser.  Imagine sending your children to school knowing the only meals they will get that day are through the free lunch program.

As a child did you dream of one day living in poverty?  Did you yearn to be filled with a constant sense of want and need? No one does.  Yet when you find yourself there, you often lose sight of the path that will lead you out. 

The dictionary defines the word struggle as a verb meaning to make one’s way with violent effort.  Living in poverty is most definitely a daily struggle.  Yet, when you convert the word struggle to a noun the meaning becomes; a task or goal requiring much effort to accomplish or achieve.

That is where we come in.  Not just us, as in Bend Area Habitat, but us as in each person who reads this post.  When you visit the library today or stop at the store to pick up some sour cream for tonight’s tacos, look around you. Ruminate on your friends’ situations or their friends’ situations.  Make a conscious effort to recognize those who are participating in the action of struggle and help them to convert their struggles into a noun.  Help them set a goal, such as simple, decent housing.  Show them how when they combine effort with purpose they create an attainable and actionable goal.  But most importantly, reach out and help.