LESS Scarcity

I set out this month with a goal of having LESS of a scarcity mindset. I wanted to focus on enjoying what I have instead of trying to nickel and dime save everything for some unknown date in the future. It's something I have really struggled with, and let me tell you, the Lord really did a work in me this month. It's not that I did not experience the scarcity mindset, but that the Lord opened my eyes to see the piles of blessings that I have. I can see. I can hear. I can taste. I can touch. I can smell. I can walk. And this month, I got to return to running. 

I got to focus this month LESS on scarcity and more on abundance. I noticed that I really had enough time to do special things (not all the things, but the special, priority things). God provided enough money for us to help some others. In the midst of really busy, stressful seasons for both my husband and I, we found margin to get away and enjoy the great outdoors and time with each other. 

It was not a perfect month. That's for sure. We had days we did not feel well. Internet issues interfered with our ability to work from home (as well as do other tasks of life). We found out we once again need to buy a new refrigerator (as well as a new dishwasher). But you know what? God was enough, more than enough. As Niro Feliciano writes in This Book Won't Make You Happy, “What we often miss is that God allows us to be content right now, in this moment, because the presence of God is enough.” This month was a giant lesson in that.

Reference:

Feliciano, N. (2022) This book won't make you happy: Eight keys to finding true contentment. Broadleaf Books.

Savor

The breath caught in my throat. It almost hurt. I saw the lights in the windows. I saw the decorations, but I was glued to my phone, trying to cram in my readings for the day, reviewing my to-do list, adding items to the grocer order, walking quickly because I was already late. I just want to enjoy this season, yet it is flying by. I want to stay, linger, stand and stare. Revel in the beauty, but just like that morning, for the most part, I am not. I'm rushing, flying around like there is no tomorrow. There may, in fact, be no tomorrow. We're not promised it. Isn't that more reason to rest, relish, enjoy today? It hasn't been for me. It has been one more reason to get things done, to hurry and scurry so maybe, just maybe, if there is a tomorrow, and tomorrow is less busy, I will get the chance to rest. That chance never comes, though. The time I find, I fill, because I live in scarcity. It is not a good way to live.

I have already given up many things this season: baking plans, event attendance, etc. I have not even listened to Handel's Messiah, which is a family tradition. We got our Christmas cards out late. We used labels rather than hand-addressing (and let's be honest, cards went out mostly because my husband made the labels and put on most of them). I have "wrapped" most gifts in bags. My husband and I chose not to exchange gifts this year. Still, the season is crazy.

Believers have a saying, "Keep Christ in Christmas." What is left when we take Christ out? Mas, the Spanish word for more. I feel like that has become what Christmas is about: more. More events. More gifts. More cards. More. More. More. The simple beauty of the season gets lost.

I cannot fix my scarcity mentality overnight. In reality, there is still a lot to do. For the remaining time until Christmas, though, I am trying to savor what I can: the lights, the sights, the songs. I double back on my walking route to see the store window decorations downtown for a second time. I actually look in the windows. We keep the Christmas lights burning in our tree to whatever hour we stay up. I take lots of pictures. The season is flying by, but I can still savor it, or at least little bits of it. This I seek to do, not from a place of scarcity, of worrying about losing the season, but from a place of enjoyment. This season really is beautiful, and worth soaking in.

There is Enough.

"As thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deut 33:25, King James Version).

Even before COVID 19, I felt like I was living in a season where there never seemed to be enough. There never seemed to be enough time, energy, cooked food, gas in the car, friends, connections, times to think, insight, etc. I say there seemed because there really was enough. I could choose to cut things out of my schedule to make time for what was important. We had plenty of food, just maybe not what I wanted to eat. I could fill up my car at any old gas station. I had friends, even if they dwell far away. God was opening up opportunities for connection if I only looked for them. I could choose to shut off some noise in my life (the radio, social media, etc.) and commit to reflection. 

Then COVID-19 hit. I couldn't find staples like rice and beans and carrots at the grocery store. (Why carrots were in short supply, I don't know.) There was no toilet paper on the shelves. Work got busier. My mind got more crowded with anxiety and worry and fear. I worried about my health and the health of my loved ones. I wondered how I would survive in such a season of lack. I expressed my anxieties to my husband, wanting him to sympathize, and his in his wisdom said, "Has God always provided?"

"Yes, but..."

He cut me off. "Then I can't join you."

He was right. God has always provided, and He always will. The issue with my feelings of scarcity is really my mindset. God is Provider. There is enough. There is enough time. There is enough energy. There are enough resources. 

For what God calls me to do and how He calls me to live. <----- And that is the kicker.

I don't have time or energy or resources for anything other than what God has laid out for me. Neither do you. Maybe in this season of life my sphere of influence is small, mostly in my own home. Maybe it's the same for you. But in this season, even with COVID-19, God's portion is enough. His grace is sufficient for me (2 Cor 12:9). And it is for you, if you believe. His strength is sufficient for you, if you believe, if I believe. 

God is Enough. May we have faith to live out of that truth.