Reason #680
I feel like I have a million things to do, and I don't have enough time to get them done. I keep forgetting to write it all down, too, so I hope I'm not forgetting anything. I'm pretty sure everyone feels the same way at the end of the year. The holidays do a good job of running people ragged. Anyway, the top of today's to-do list was to pick up my car from the shop. They've had it for about a week and a half now, which was totally fine with me as I thoroughly enjoyed the rental car I was given. Every time I have rented a car in the past, I have been more than happy to turn it back in. Not so much this time. This time I was given a car that I liked more than my own. I was tempted to see if I could make a trade, but I figured that wouldn't probably work in my favor. And so today, I picked up my repaired car, and I hope that is the last time it has to be in the shop.
I was making small talk with the Enterprise employee as he drove me to the shop, and I told him that I was totally fine with my car until I drove this one. I now had new car fever. My car will be paid off in a couple of weeks (yay!), and so I could either drive a free car or a new car. Of course, the obvious choice is a free car, and the more I thought about that, the more I thought about how I needed to be more appreciative for the things I have.
It's easy to get really consumeristic this time of year. Sales are going on, shopping has turned into a sport, and now you're not only buying for yourself, you're buying for other people, too. And so once you start spending, you kind of forget how much everything is costing you. A few dollars here, a few dollars there, but it doesn't "count" because it's Christmas, right? Filling our baskets with things we don't need because we already have too much. It's true. My family started drawing names for Christmas gifts a few years ago so that a.) we could save money and time and because b.) no one needed anything. We would send out our Christmas lists in advance and it took us forever to even come up with a list of 5 things. Usually, half of the items were gift cards to our favorite stores or repeats of things we already own. Tis the season to give and receive, and somehow we always end up getting and wanting more.
I keep finding this out about myself. The more I go into stores, the more I want the things in the stores. The more new, shiny things I see, the more I think I need them. Forget the fact that I don't have an inch of spare space in my house. But when you see something that is "nicer" than what you've had, it's hard not to desire it isn't? It's easy to quickly become ungrateful. And yet that ungratefulness was what led you to the things you have now, the things you are ungrateful for, when you ungrateful for the things before that.
I think there comes a point where we have to stop and check our hearts. Why are we not grateful for what we have? Why do we want more when there is absolutely nothing wrong with what we've got? Every morning, I have a good car that gets me to work. A car that is safe and comfortable. A car that is going to be paid off soon. A free car! But I look at that free car and I think about what's next and when I can get it. Rarely do I find myself thinking, "Thank you, Lord, for providing for me so that I can have a car and pay it off. Thank you for allowing me to have such a luxury when the majority of the world will never own a car. Thank you for being so generous to me."
Maybe when we look at our stuff as a blessing rather than an outdated piece of junk, we'd realize how fortunate we are. Maybe if we thanked God for our things we wouldn't have the desire to go out and keep getting more so that we could feel satisfied. Because truth be told, it doesn't take long to want something else. But when you quit wanting and you start appreciating, life looks a little different. You realize stuff is just stuff no matter how new or sparkly it is. Be thankful for what you have, because if you're anything like me, you've always had more than enough.
#680 - Because He has always given me more than enough.
"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High." - Psalm 92:1
I was making small talk with the Enterprise employee as he drove me to the shop, and I told him that I was totally fine with my car until I drove this one. I now had new car fever. My car will be paid off in a couple of weeks (yay!), and so I could either drive a free car or a new car. Of course, the obvious choice is a free car, and the more I thought about that, the more I thought about how I needed to be more appreciative for the things I have.
It's easy to get really consumeristic this time of year. Sales are going on, shopping has turned into a sport, and now you're not only buying for yourself, you're buying for other people, too. And so once you start spending, you kind of forget how much everything is costing you. A few dollars here, a few dollars there, but it doesn't "count" because it's Christmas, right? Filling our baskets with things we don't need because we already have too much. It's true. My family started drawing names for Christmas gifts a few years ago so that a.) we could save money and time and because b.) no one needed anything. We would send out our Christmas lists in advance and it took us forever to even come up with a list of 5 things. Usually, half of the items were gift cards to our favorite stores or repeats of things we already own. Tis the season to give and receive, and somehow we always end up getting and wanting more.
I keep finding this out about myself. The more I go into stores, the more I want the things in the stores. The more new, shiny things I see, the more I think I need them. Forget the fact that I don't have an inch of spare space in my house. But when you see something that is "nicer" than what you've had, it's hard not to desire it isn't? It's easy to quickly become ungrateful. And yet that ungratefulness was what led you to the things you have now, the things you are ungrateful for, when you ungrateful for the things before that.
I think there comes a point where we have to stop and check our hearts. Why are we not grateful for what we have? Why do we want more when there is absolutely nothing wrong with what we've got? Every morning, I have a good car that gets me to work. A car that is safe and comfortable. A car that is going to be paid off soon. A free car! But I look at that free car and I think about what's next and when I can get it. Rarely do I find myself thinking, "Thank you, Lord, for providing for me so that I can have a car and pay it off. Thank you for allowing me to have such a luxury when the majority of the world will never own a car. Thank you for being so generous to me."
Maybe when we look at our stuff as a blessing rather than an outdated piece of junk, we'd realize how fortunate we are. Maybe if we thanked God for our things we wouldn't have the desire to go out and keep getting more so that we could feel satisfied. Because truth be told, it doesn't take long to want something else. But when you quit wanting and you start appreciating, life looks a little different. You realize stuff is just stuff no matter how new or sparkly it is. Be thankful for what you have, because if you're anything like me, you've always had more than enough.
#680 - Because He has always given me more than enough.
"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High." - Psalm 92:1