I posted this on Instagram recently and wanted to share it here too! But if you’re not on Insta, you’re missing the party!
You know, just toting the backpack I bought for 75% off at Target! If you told me 10 years ago how excited I’d be over a clearance bag from Target I’d probably be depressed. ha! Because back then I was obsessed with “stuff” – designer bags, expensive clothes, I refused to drive anything other than a BMW. 🙁 Ugh! I was so selfish.
Oh, but Jesus has changed my heart! All that stuff and excess makes me a little sick to my stomach now. It’s embarrassing. Not the stuff itself. (If you want that fancy bag, you get it! I still have a couple in my closet.) 😉 But the hold the stuff had on my heart makes me sad. None of it ever satisfied for long, so I constantly had to have more, more, and more.
A few years ago Anderson was suddenly laid off from his really lucrative job. And when some of our friends heard about it they didn’t ask questions – they just immediately sent us a card with money in it. A lot of money. And even now, when I think back to that incredibly hard time, one of the first memories that always comes to mind is that card. I told Anderson that I wanted us to one day be in a position where we could give like that when we heard about a need in someone else’s life. And so we began to pray that God would allow us to do that some day. And just a few years later God has honored that prayer!
Now I get so much more excited about giving and want to live in a way that allows our family to give so much that we can’t explain it! Don’t get me wrong. I’m still selfish! So very selfish. Like, a total jerk some days… you getting the picture?! But the more we give, the more I realize that’s where lasting happiness and joy comes from. Practicing gratitude makes me content, and it helps my heart stay on track… most days! So give me the Target backpack, thrift store clothes, and Hyundai!
I still can’t walk away from a good pair of shoes though. We all have our limits. 🙂
