Reason #264
I love being home. I am a homebody, and love spending time at my house. I am completely content to stay at home and be a bum every night of the week. Home is comfortable. I know where everything is, and I have all of my things right where I want them. And so my life is contained in these 4 bricks walls. Mine, mine, it's all mine.
Two years ago, I signed papers and sunk myself into 6 figures worth of debt. Living the American dream. I picked out paint chips, got new window treatments, selected hardware for my cabinets and made many trips to Home Depot for other various things. Homeownership is expensive! I began to fill my house with things. Every cabinet, filled to the top with stuff. Dishes, towels, pots and pans, clothes, decorations, cleaning supplies... you get the idea. I made sure no storage space was wasted. My new home, just the way I wanted it. Seven months ago, I signed some more papers to re-sink myself into 6 figures worth of debt. Responsibility, now it was all mine. Mine, mine, mine.
Mine. It's a word we learn early on in life. "Mine" and "no" seem to be the first two words of a child's vocabulary. So we have to learn how to share. Our parents take on the role of constantly reminding us to share, letting us know that no one wants to play with the stingey kid. Sharing is caring, after all. But some times, "mine" can be a little scary. Because when "mine" really is all yours, you've got a lot of responsibility weighing on your shoulders. "Mine" is fun and appealing when you aren't giving up one paycheck a month in order to keep it "mine." And so this became a legitimate fear of mine... about the things that were "mine."
But here's what I've well learned over the past year of life. Nothing I have is really mine. Sure, my name may be signed on the dotted line, but it was given to me. Supplied to me by a Provider who has entrusted me with it. Given to me to use, to share. Because being stingey isn't the point. He doesn't pour out blessings so that we can hoard them. Rather, He pours out blessings so that they can overflow into the lives of others. And like the old saying goes, "What's yours is mine, and what's mine is ours." And here, it's true. What I have is His because He has given it all to me. Put it on paper, write down the figures, and it doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up. But God doesn't need our measly money to make things work out. He doesn't calculate our blessings based on our salary. He gives us an allowance, a travel allowance, that is. Because even though this is my home, it's not. This is just where I'm staying right now because He has allowed it. And so, as I sat in my backyard with my sweet friends tonight, my heart was very grateful. Grateful for a space of shelter, a space I've detailed to my liking, a space that's comfy and homey, and a space that was meant for sharing. And I'm thankful to serve a God who doesn't make us shoulder life on our own, but rather shares in the blessings, the hardships, the joys, the sorrows, the ups and downs and the everything in betweens.
#264 - Because He pours out blessings so that we can share with one another.
"All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had." - Acts 4:32
Two years ago, I signed papers and sunk myself into 6 figures worth of debt. Living the American dream. I picked out paint chips, got new window treatments, selected hardware for my cabinets and made many trips to Home Depot for other various things. Homeownership is expensive! I began to fill my house with things. Every cabinet, filled to the top with stuff. Dishes, towels, pots and pans, clothes, decorations, cleaning supplies... you get the idea. I made sure no storage space was wasted. My new home, just the way I wanted it. Seven months ago, I signed some more papers to re-sink myself into 6 figures worth of debt. Responsibility, now it was all mine. Mine, mine, mine.
Mine. It's a word we learn early on in life. "Mine" and "no" seem to be the first two words of a child's vocabulary. So we have to learn how to share. Our parents take on the role of constantly reminding us to share, letting us know that no one wants to play with the stingey kid. Sharing is caring, after all. But some times, "mine" can be a little scary. Because when "mine" really is all yours, you've got a lot of responsibility weighing on your shoulders. "Mine" is fun and appealing when you aren't giving up one paycheck a month in order to keep it "mine." And so this became a legitimate fear of mine... about the things that were "mine."
But here's what I've well learned over the past year of life. Nothing I have is really mine. Sure, my name may be signed on the dotted line, but it was given to me. Supplied to me by a Provider who has entrusted me with it. Given to me to use, to share. Because being stingey isn't the point. He doesn't pour out blessings so that we can hoard them. Rather, He pours out blessings so that they can overflow into the lives of others. And like the old saying goes, "What's yours is mine, and what's mine is ours." And here, it's true. What I have is His because He has given it all to me. Put it on paper, write down the figures, and it doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up. But God doesn't need our measly money to make things work out. He doesn't calculate our blessings based on our salary. He gives us an allowance, a travel allowance, that is. Because even though this is my home, it's not. This is just where I'm staying right now because He has allowed it. And so, as I sat in my backyard with my sweet friends tonight, my heart was very grateful. Grateful for a space of shelter, a space I've detailed to my liking, a space that's comfy and homey, and a space that was meant for sharing. And I'm thankful to serve a God who doesn't make us shoulder life on our own, but rather shares in the blessings, the hardships, the joys, the sorrows, the ups and downs and the everything in betweens.
#264 - Because He pours out blessings so that we can share with one another.
"All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had." - Acts 4:32