My father decided to become a missionary early in my life. He took his wife and 4 kids on a boat and we sailed south to Brazil. It was a bit of a culture shock, but as a young child, it was more of an adventure. After language school we were sent to our new home in a small town in the arid northeast of Brazil, named Crato.

This post is not so much about the many changes during that time for our family, but more about something I learned on an occasion and still remember to this day. It’s a very small memory, and could easily have gone unnoticed. Let me explain.

Unlike our lifestyle in the USA, there were very few conveniences in this part of the world. Electricity was spotty. Sanitation was minimal. And much of what was done easily in the U.S., was tedious and time-consuming here. Therefore we needed help. Especially my mother. So we hired a maid to help with the cooking. Her name was Anunciada. She was a portly middle-aged good natured woman with many children.

One day my mother sent me to Anunciada’s house with a message. So I walked up the hill to her house and delivered Mom’s message. Anunciada’s house was typical of the poor folks in the town. The structure was made of two layers of sticks, with hardened mud or clay in between the two layers of sticks. The roof was made of palm thatches. The floor of the small hut was packed hard dirt.

When I arrived she was sweeping the floor with a couple of palm leaves bundled together. Sweeping the dirt floor! And that’s when I realized something that stuck with me throughout my life.

No matter what you are given in life, it pays to keep it “clean”.

In other words, whatever tools you have, or environment you live in, take good care of it. Learn to adapt and get skillful with what you are given in life. We all want more. That’s just natural. Yet, we should look around and see how we can make the best with what we have now. If even a dirt floor is worth sweeping, then making the best of what we already have is worth it.