May 22, 2009

Keepers

Hi friends.
Dont worry I will be back with creations a bit later on today. But I wanted to share this email with you that I got from one of my dearest friends (Hi, Linda!!). So often we are consumed with being the most flashy, the richest, the best....we drive fancy cars, we purchase humongous houses, we dress like we need to be in magazines~paying no attention to comfort or price. We strive to get more stuff. Pretty soon we, ourselves are consumed with stuff. Our houses are stuffed to the gills with stuff we just HAVE to have. Then we lock them up, jump in our fancy cars and head out to the local shopping mall to get some MORE stuff. As most of you know, I have been going through some major changes in this area. Some of Gods hints were a little more rude than others, but I am finally catching on. Ohhh to go back to the days of FIXING things, getting excited for Christmas and the brand new red bike that you hope youll be getting, afterall, you had been dreaming of it for a WHOLE year. Now adays for some of us, something that big is nothing more than a loaf of bread in the excitement category. Now, mind you...I do NOT speak for everyone. And when I speak...I am mainly pointing the finger right back at myself. But God's been working on me. I am learning that its the little things that really matter. My girls are precious, I have a beautiful and loving husband and a God that loves me. All this other stuff is just so stupid! So I challenge YOU today. First, read the email below...then- think about how YOU can keep some stuff in your life too.
Go and be blessed!
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Keeper
I grew up in the 40's/50's with practical parents.
A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it...
A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away.
I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.
Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more. But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return.
So... while we have it...
it's best we love it....
and care for it....
and fix it when it's broken........
and heal it when it's sick.
This is true.
for marriage.....
and old cars....
and children with bad report cards.....
and dogs with bad hips....
and aging parents.....
and grandparents.
We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special........ and so, we keep them close!
~~God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
~~God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
~~God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.
~~God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
~~God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
~~God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
~~God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
~~God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character.

4 comments:

Rikki Holley said...

This is so very true.
We live in a very small condo but there is lots of love all around.
It does not matter how big your house is but how much love you feel when you walk in the door.

Becky, I agree 100% with your friends email.
and btw my mom is one of those recycle queens too and she is now 72 years old and still doing the same thing.
I learned form her and now I do the same ...use things over or wash them out and use them for another purpose. Before I throw away a plastic container I think of what I could use it for next.
Great to hear that people are starting to see the light again....God shows us in his own way we just need to pay attention.

Hope @ monkey giggles said...

All so true. Thank you for sharing

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the really poignant reminder of the important things in life, Becky.

Anonymous said...

WOW Becky this is so true and a great reminder of life.. My mother washed out Aluminum foil as well.. I have thehabit of drying paper towels and re-using them! Silly but inherited.. Ihave been known to save good plastic ware, wash & re-use at cook-outs. lol
We shop for clothing at Salvation Army Thrift stores...I'm not to proud.. My kids don't get big name brand sneakers .. They get good sneakers at fair prices.
Thank-youto you and your friend,
Kim