not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
On the rare occasion we take the kids to breakfast, I am always amazed at the ice cream scoop of butter they put on the pancakes or french toast. Who uses that much butter? And until the littles get bigger, they think they want that butter because well, it looks like ice cream! Now that the boys are older, they will scrape it all off but Emma is still too little to totally get that the amount of butter is excessive and unhealthy.
How often is that us? We know what we are doing is unhealthy, unneeded, and in excess and yet, we do it anyway. Lately, I have found myself overwhelmed by too much stuff in my own home.
I am one of those people who save things because I can use it for a craft or the kids can (okay I don’t save everything and I don’t have a hoarders type home, just to clarify). Yet, I have craft stuff like crazy and most of it has never seen the light of day.
I feel like the kids have too much stuff too. They don’t seem to appreciate the things they have and whether that is just the age or that they really do have too much, I’m not really sure.
I do think it has to do with our generation. Each generation seems to want to give their kids more than they had. It’s a vicious cycle because each generation often grows up with more than they need. Imagine if our own children continue on with this mentality that having more for their own children is really important.
We can’t fill that emptiness in our hearts with stuff or food. You know it’s true as much as I do. We’ve tried it; it always fails. What might feel good in the moment, will eventually feel empty again.
That hole is meant to be filled by Christ. If you feel like you are missing something, then spend some time with the Lord and tell Him about it. He’ll fill it if you ask.
There might always be a longing that we can’t quite put our finger on. It’s a longing for paradise with The One and Only. When we make sure that longing is focused on the right things, we won’t fill up on excess junk from this world.
I challenge you this November to not only spend time being thankful for what you have but examining your life for what you have in excess. What can you live with out? Simplify your things and magnify God’s treasures!