True Wealth

The kids and I got to jawing on a few morsels about the condition of our existence of late. I have been fretting about and getting all worked up about our present financial situation. Now don’t get me wrong. We are ok….but we are in a state that neither Bob nor I like. We are currently carrying a balance on a credit card and it…well…it pisses us off. We haven’t paid a cent in interest yet but we know next month we will since I only paid off half the balance this month. Grrrr. Now I won’t go into all the happenings that brought about this condition because I know everyone out there knows that poop happens. We just hit our first outhouse of events.

Anyway….the kids and I got to talking how since we reached this point we have been reverting back to more creative practices in entertaining ourselves. I wouldn’t say ‘creative’….just common sense, more basic, simple. The very best kind, such as the picnic for Bob’s birthday. We are not running to movies or out to restaurants or to amusement parks. Instead we are planning outings that don’t cost a dime but have thought and interaction going on. We are playing catch again, games, story telling. Wonderful bits of simple joy. Stuff we, the kids and I, did when we were too poor to think anything beyond picnics. Now we can look back and see just how rich we were.

I am GRATEFUL…..yes grateful that we found ourselves in this little snaggle. I’m not going to fret about it anymore instead choosing to see it as the blessing it truly is. All five of us have had our eyes opened again to what is really important. We’ve always been close but we have allowed ourselves to complacently be dragged along into the world of ‘entertainment’ instead of recreation and DEEP relationship. I know I dabbled in writing about this very sort of thing once before only I was blind to how ensnared we had become. Isn’t God good to have given us this gift?

Even cooking is fun again. I’m planning out menus again, taking inventory of our shelves and freezer and coming up with simple meals. Ok…cheap meals. But they are belly fillers. And I’m baking bread again on a regular basis. Even Zoe has mastered bread baking and she is loving it. I’m looking into what craft things I can get started on again. Also sorting through in my mind what sort of bedcovers I can make instead of buy. I am using my mind and hands again instead of the internet catalog of choices. Talk about feel good.

I pray we never lose this treasure again.