When I looked at the pile of unwanted stuff sitting in the entryway of my house I.was.disgusted. I had an uncomfortable knot growing quickly in my stomach. How could that pile of stuff represent the wealth of our life? That was what we chose to buy. And I take full responsibility for that fact. None of the items that we purged happened into our home by Husband's doing. They ended up in our house in the first place namely because I was bored at a given moment.
Boredom for me equals a quick trip out to Target…and Lord knows I can't make it through Target without spending $25. House goods, snacks, cheap nail polish! Happiness in a white plastic bag. But, we all know this isn't really true. That happiness wears off quicker than the drive home.
I also choose to spend my money on craft supplies. New craft supplies represent hope and possibility to me. But, they also represent guilt when I look at those same craft supplies unused 6 months later. They not only represent my lack of discipline as far as making little purchases go. They also represent my lack of follow through on ideas that I have. Shame, guilt, and disappointment quickly set in as I recognize this fact.
As I was doing this adventure, I was also reading chapter 7 of Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. In it, he talks about narrowing the gap between those who have too much and those who have too little. Having either affliction is problematic and detrimental. This was a convicting thought for me, literally, for the first time in my life. You see, I come from an affluent area and a group of friends who grew up well off. If you heard conversations about money around where I come from, even among Christians, you would hear things like "It's okay to be rich–at least I tithe" or "I can drive my $75,000 SUV, because I give money in other ways". And this may well be true for them. But, the more and more I learn about myself and what I want out of this life, the more I recognize that I would be unable to be intimate with God and be flippant with my finances at the same time.
My heart is truly burdened for the first time for those who have less than I. I'm not talking about the poorest of poor (although they have need and value, too), but I am talking about those in our own cities who need care and basics to survive. I talked with a woman who attends our women's Bible Study about a house she and a friend have just moved into. She is the same faithful woman I spoke about in the first adventure. She is previously homeless…now she has a home, but no bed. I was asking her if she had any needs for their house, thinking she would mention some artwork or curtains. She said she needed a bed. She has lived there for three weeks. Three weeks without a bed. How could this be?
How can I look at that giant pile of stuff and not wonder how I frittered away hundreds of dollars? But, don't we all do it? Have you looked around your home and wondered what you could do without? How can you keep those things from entering your home in the first place? And what can you do with the money that you save?