Just yesterday, I had planned to take my son (10 1/2 months old) and my dog to see Santa at the mall here in town. Everything was going as planned. Luther did well in the back of our station wagon (first time he'd been in it), Bird did well in his stroller at The Dawg Wash while I bathed Luther, and we wrapped that up and headed to the mall.
Determined to get my boys' picture with the man in red, we arrived promptly at 4:00, which was the time I thought I had seen posted for pet photos. I struggled to contain my unruly beast on his retractable leash while I pulled the stroller behind me with my other hand, from my parking space near the sidewalk all the way into Santa's territory.
Sadly, after all that effort (and exercise!), I looked at the sign. "Pet Photos with Santa every Monday at 6 through December 16."
6:00.
That's not 4:00.
I was two hours early. I asked the "elf" if she could make an exception. She could not. I could not bear to drive back home, get the boys unloaded and into the house, and then turn around not even an hour later to do it all over again. And after looking (glancing, really) at the prices for the photos, I'm glad I decided against it. The least expensive package was $23.00. The one for "Baby's First," however, was $40, and included all sorts of useless stuff.
Later that evening, when I went to pay for the pizzas we ordered from Dominos, which totaled less than $20, my bank card was declined. (We did have a couple of unexpected expenses, which helps to alleviate the shock, but still.)
Checking was empty. Payday is Friday.
Dinner went on the credit card.
Why am I telling you this? Because it forced me to reevaluate what's important. My entire day, yesterday, was spent preparing for something I didn't need to spend money on (and in fact, really couldn't), and then my evening was spent brainstorming what we can cut back on and do without.
Then today, my mom posted this on Facebook:
I went to Hobby Lobby in Hagerstown this afternoon. There is always a Salvation Army bell ringer out in front of the store. The one I personally like is "Eleanor". She sings Christmas carols out of the hymnal she carries with her. She always greets you with a smile, whether or not you put anything in the red kettle. Today I took time to chat with her prior to going in to shop. I learned she is homeless. She lives in her van with an adult son that has some medical issues. I listened to her tell me how faithful God has been to her. How she knows so many others that are worse off than she is. How she wants to give her less fortunate friends a little something for Christmas. She hugged me goodbye, & as I entered the store with tears in my eyes, I couldn't help but feel so very undeserving of everything I have. I shopped for things that I could've done without. I picked up a hot dinner on the way home. I came home to a warm house. Later I will take a hot shower and climb into a warm, cozy bed with plenty of blankets on top of me....while Eleanor sleeps in her van, in a parking lot somewhere, with subfreezing temps outside. I learned alot today from this little, homeless, woman. I hope we all can take a moment out of our "too busy" schedules & focus on what Christmas is really about. I pray that I never, again, take for granted what God has blessed me with and I pray, too, that everyday He will use me to somehow bless someone else like Eleanor blessed me today.
Wade and I have a good life. He has a good job with a steady, reliable income. We have a roof over our heads and food in the freezer and cupboards. Our child is healthy and smart and growing faster than I'd like. We finally have a reliable car.
I felt so small this evening, reading what Momma shared with her Facebook friends. We've been given so much, Wade and I. Why aren't we being better stewards of what God has entrusted to us?
There is no reason our liquid account should be dry. There is no reason I should feel that I have to use a credit card. If I can't pay for it out of what we have, chances are I don't need it.
These last two days have really got me thinking.
I was so concerned that "Christmas is going to be really small this year," when I should be thankful that we have the means to splurge a little and give tokens of our affection to friends and family members. But...every day should be small. We (all of us, not just Wade and me) live more extravagantly than necessary. We have more stuff than we have places to put it all. We have so many more reasons to be grateful and thankful than many folks, and it always seems that we're wanting more.
The "more" that people look for cannot be found in things. It can only be found in God. He is faithful to us. We should be faithful to him, too.
We are all blessed, whether we realize it or not, and whether we believe in God or not.
Take the time to simplify your life. I'm going to. And I think we'll all be surprised at how much richer we will be with less "stuff." We will finally be able to see past it all to look at the bigger picture.
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