A simple life full of riches

As I was just now cleaning my bedroom, I stumbled over a pool of kitty vomit. Sigh.

Abby eats and then throws up. Not every time. And not in the same place. But being a two-room apartment, it is never too long before I find it.

I bent over and cleaned it up, and applied Formula 409 for carpets. As I was wringing out the rag, I laughed out loud, thinking about how so many lives are so different, and are judged by different standards.

In America the standards are how much stuff do you have and how big is it (VW or BMW? Skidoo or Yacht?). How much money do you have? How prestigious is your job? By all those standards I am a total failure. I have catch-all jobs or low-prestige ones. I have little money but just enough. I constantly give away my stuff to others who can use it or need it more.

But I run my life by God's standard. Jesus said that the good life is the goal. But of this, He makes it clear what He means:

LUKE 12:15 And He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."

LUKE 6:25 "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

MATTHEW 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 6:20 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;.

It's hard to do but well worth it to shift priorities. Any doubt was erased from my mind when I read the blessing that Teresa wrote on her blog:

"I also want to give a huge thank you to my friend Elizabeth. She is clearing out some things at her house. I was gifted with 5 huge boxes of art goodies on Saturday. I took at least two boxes to the church resource room. The acrylic paints she gifted me with are packed in my studio and ready for my fall/early winter project - Christmas Program back drops. I have some things to go to a friend who works with disabled children. I already broke out some magazines for the kids at church yesterday..."

Yay! Kids and other people can use the art things I've accumulated. It was hard to let those go but I haven't used many of them for some time so...I am thrilled to hear that others can use them more. And then I read this:

"I have so much respect for Beth in the decisions she has made in her life. She is incredibly smart and studies many things to broaden her learning. My biggest respect is her faith and Bible Study and willingness to follow God's direction in her life as well as sharing her faith with those she encounters."

'Sharing her faith'...I am so happy! What a blessing those words were to me. I always beat myself up over thinking I am not doing enough to share Jesus with others. I don't witness in the traditional way because I am not in the community much nor have an office environment with a stream of people to talk with. But through writing I hope Jesus comes through and being a living example is another way to share. He has blessed me so much I am grateful for that. After all, He saved me. I am rich and I am having a good life.