This past weekend, Carl, Keevia and I spent some time with family. While there, the septic system went kaput. As our toilet, we had a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat on top.

Now, I'm a true country girl. I've used an outhouse on several occasions. I'm not that squeamish... but the smell of that 5 gallon bucket was bad enough to knock you over!

We really started feeling sorry for ourselves. We tried to make ourselves feel better by saying "Well, you have to do what you have to do" all the while grumbling to ourselves. We sort of acted like this was the worst thing that could have happened.

It got me to thinking... A septic system is not a necessity. It's a luxury. Yes, I just went there. Electricity isn't a necessity, it's a luxury. Running water isn't a necessity, it's a luxury... yet all of these things are things we think of as "must haves". When our electric goes out, we whine and complain and talk about how horrible the electric company is... we get mad because our electric isn't on. Same thing with the water, or with a septic system. We feel like we HAVE to have them.

We didn't have any of these things until around 150 years ago. Many, many parts of the world still don't have them. Yet, we feel like we're entitled to them.

One of my favorite Christian bloggers, MckMama (that's her pen name, her real name is Jennifer Mckinley) recently went to Kenya on a missions trip and blogged the entire trip as it happened. She had an eye-opening experience and got the opportunity to share it with her blog followers. While she was there she saw poverty and destitution like we in America can only dream about. They live it.

I think we all take our luxuries for granted. We think they are always supposed to be there, and when they aren't, we get livid. We feel entitled to things that some people have never even experienced. So, the next time your electric goes out, you are on a boil water advisory, or your toilet stops working, remember that these things are luxuries, not necessities. You WILL get through it. You WILL survive without TV, without internet, without a toilet... many people all over the world survive with a lot less.