A few weeks ago, BAM! out of the blue I felt really convicted about how I'm living and it sort of blindsided me.
I'm a Christian. I pay my taxes. I am at a healthy weight for my height. I'm a good mom. I'm a good wife. I am kind. I love people. I recycle. So what's wrong with this picture?
Nothing per se.
But I still got that nagging feeling that I'm not doing everything I should be. Ahhh, we love to get that feeling, right? Yeah, not so much.
Dan and I have always lived pretty frugally. Our home is less expensive and smaller than a mortgage company would tell us we could afford. We drive old cars (mine's 8 years old, his is 10!). We don't go out to eat often.
But, we still manage to spend a lot of money each month. Some of that is necessary- we spent every penny of what I made last year on my medical bills, but they're now paid in full, and not to put too fine a point on it, adoption is costly.
We make a decent living; we're not wealthy by any (American) means, but we have enough. But as I dug, I couldn't help but notice that we were spending money that we simply just didn't need to be.
A quick trip to the grocery store here, drive through Taco Bell there... Those little things really add up fast.
As I began realizing how much we really do have, my heart felt so convicted. You see, while I am living within my means I could be doing so much more if I made the decision to live on less.
At a young age God placed adoption on my heart, but since Max arrived my heart has changed. I don't want to just be an adoptive mother (I don't mean that like oh, just a adoptive mother!). The world is vast and there are so many children.
I can't possibly adopt all the children, but I can make changes in my life that can help provide for many more of them, not just the ones that become a part of my family.
The verse James 1:27 is a constant narrative in my mind, but I want to make it the narrative of my life:
"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."
Or as Mother Teresa so eloquently and concisely put it:
“Live simply so others may simply live.”
So I'm making changes. I want to be conscientious about my spending (as well as my time) so that I
can do what God has called me to do- care for the orphans and widows.
Have you ever felt convicted to make changes in your life? How did you feel the rewards outweighed the sacrifices you made?
I'm convicted to do something more on a regular basis, too. For me it's kind of the opposite... we make enough money to get by, and we are blessed incredibly in all sorts of ways, but still there's always something oh-so-useful that I could spend my "extra" money on. So I don't give as much as I want... but oh, I do want to be someone who has a heart for the poor and needy. I want to be someone who looks after other people's interests before I look after my own.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement to think outside of myself. This is something that's close to my heart and I want it to remain a priority always.
Hi, Hannah!
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally get ya. I think as humans it probably is something that we *have* to be convicted about on a regular basis because our needs and wants often come before others needs and wants in our minds. I know that's something I continually struggle with.
I'm glad you came by! :-)