Translation:
"There are people who spend their lives doing things they detest to make money they don't need, to buy things they don't want, and to impress people they don't like."
Isn't that SO true? I fall in and out of the category from time to time, I admit it. Especially the last bit: IMPRESS PEOPLE THEY DON'T LIKE.
I'm not talking about doing things you don't like in order to make money to survive. That is a completely different story. But this quote goes hand in hand with a blog a posted a while back regarding keeping up with the Jones'.
Aaron and I are currently in the process of building a home. We're scheduled to move in this summer. I have struggled, off and on, with this purchase because of my life experience. I have seen the slums of Central and South America. I know the faces that occupy them. I have held the children born in them. Yet here I am, building a 2500 square foot home in suburbia with my granite counter tops, AC, and two-car garage. This house means I don't get to be a stay at home mom quite yet. This house means no vacation for a couple of years. "So why are you buying it?" you may be asking yourself.
We have wanted to buy a home and get more settled. Our entire adult lives seem to have been surrounded by "temporary". We have apartment-hopped for years and, with Aaron's new job, we know we'll be in GA for many years to come. So it's time to buy and to settle. As a wife and mom, I couldn't be MORE thrilled with the notion. The missionary within, however, is like "WHAT?"
It will be big enough to offer hospitality to any traveler seeking a soft pillow and warm meal. It will be the place where my children have their first memories. It's the haven we've been waiting for and we're thrilled its finally happened. These are all good things, none of which I'm ashamed.
But don't we all fall into that occasional trap of wanting everything to be "just so" in order to look like we have it all together? I know I do. I don't live in a constant state of that trap, I just trip over it every now and again. :/ The tricky part is to not get caught up in and attached to the things we find ourselves possessing. Its ok to be comfortable, its ok to enjoy nice things, I believe God wants that for us 100%.
So what then? There is no conclusion. Life is a balancing act and I'll let you know when I get it all figured out (yeah right). The desires of my heart have not changed. I still want to reach the unreached, to open myself up to shine His light brilliantly as He brings Peace and Hope to those who have none. I want my children to be exposed to the outside world; the world that doesn't have granite counter tops, or any counter tops for that matter. And they will. Trust that. But I'm accepting now that there is also no shame in the quiet comforts of life that God lovingly sets in our path to enjoy, even if temporarily. And enjoy it we shall!
Welcome all, Mi Casa es Su Casa!
No comments:
Post a Comment