“Give Me Neither Poverty nor wealth give me only my daily bread”
Proverbs 30:8
I have so much stuff! I have been convicted or just annoyed by this numerous times and it usually leads me to just going on a downsizing spree and getting rid of a bunch of things. I mean it is just annoying because things take up so much space unnecessarily and I have just so many things that aren’t needed. However, especially with clothes I get rid of a bunch of things but then I go shopping or get hand-me-downs or get random clothes from different things and they just accumulate once again until I realize that I have ridiculous amounts of clothes, a lot of which I never wear and I am left in awe about how I have just been absorbed into the materialistic culture that I am surrounded with. So this week I once again went through all my things and today my roommate and I donated a car load of things that we no longer use or want. I made a list of how many clothes I have because I wanted to compare what I currently have to when I go on the race and will be living out of a backpack for 11 months.
- Sweaters: 32
- Cardigans: 12
- Long sleeves: 17
- Scarves: 13
- T-Shirts: 53
- Jeans: 11
- Other pants: 14
This is not including work-out clothes, leggings, toques, pajamas, or any other random pieces of clothing that I have. I don’t think it is wrong to be blessed materially but I don’t want to be controlled by things or allow them to become an idol. It will definitely be hard for me to live out of a backpack for a year because I like being comfortable and having a lot of clothes to pick from but I think it will be a good experience and just a good reminder to not get caught up in the things of this world. I don’t want to live my life pursuing the “American dream” and I have seen from some of the families I nanny for that being financially successful or making a lot of money can lead to a whole host of problems and stresses that I would rather avoid.
I am at the point of starting to freak out about finances for the trip and how on earth I will ever fundraise enough money but I want to trust God, he has blessed me so much at where I am right now and I just pray that Proverbs 30:8 would be true in my life, that I would have neither poverty or wealth but only my daily bread. I want to trust God to provide for my trip and to provide just what I need when I need it.
