Poor as church mice

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments. ~Earl Wilson

This has been a stressful month and it’s only Jan. 17.

It’s really kind of a series of stressful months in our house — it always seems there’s more month than money.

Coupled with that is the feeling that we always somehow find a new and unexpected bill in our box each month.

Especially since I had surgery in September.

I certainly didn’t expect all of the bills that came from that. Due to our income, we did get a break on one of those, but we still have plenty of others to make up for it.

Does it ever feel to you like the bills, the worries, the general stresses of life are overwhelming?

For me, it does. Financially, things are tight for us. Christmas this year was a lean one, with small gifts and a lot of homemade stuff going out instead of store bought stuff.

I always feel nervous when I give someone a homemade gift. Will they appreciate the time and effort that went into it? Will they use it or will it sit in the box on a shelf?

I hate giving someone a gift they won’t use. That’s honestly why I like giving gift cards.

Do they actually like it or are they simply being kind?

This Christmas season was especially frustrating to me. I think it’s because this year, more than any other year before, we were unable to give freely. We’ve had tight years before, but this was our leanest year yet.

Normally, I don’t mind getting a little creative with gifts. But it felt like we were hammered with commercial after commercial emphasizing the importance of stuff this year.

For example, there was one about how if you failed to put batteries in presents, your kids wouldn’t get to play with their new toys and you would simply ruin Christmas.

That’s not how you ruin Christmas. Focusing on the gifts, that’s how you destroy Christmas.

We so often forget that holidays like Christmas aren’t about the stuff. Yes, first and foremost, the point of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ. That should take top billing.

But I think Christmas should also be about spending time with those you love. As my (super dorky) brother said once, it’s not about the presents, it’s about the presence.

It’s about being with friends, with family, with those who need friends and family. The most important part of Christmas is not about how much you spend, but about how you spend your time.

Anyway, digressing from that mini rant. It seems that it’s so easy to get wrapped up in stuff. Not just at Christmas, but all year.It’s easy to get frustrated when you can’t get those new shoes or clothes for your kid like everyone else has. Or that cool new phone.

It’s easy to get frustrated when you feel like you work so hard and never have anything to show for it. It’s really easy to get frustrated when you’re not sure how you’re going to pay all the bills that are coming in.

But God provides.

As it says in Matthew 6:33-34:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Even when things seem hard. Even when you feel like everything you’ve worked for isn’t working out. When you’re not sure where the next meal is coming from or when life is harder than you ever dreamed it could be, set your eyes upon Him.

Run to God. He with renew you, strengthen you and protect you.

And as I remind my husband, it's better to be poor as church mice and rich in other ways than to be wealthy financially and poor in spirit.