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Truthfully, there were lots of things I learned from my folks. They were lessons well-ingrained, for my parents didn't just talk about such things, they lived them out in their everyday examples... lived them for me to see and experience. My parents weren't perfect. Nobody's are... and, frankly, neither are we, but their reliance on God and their willingness to let me see both their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths -in how it related to their faith life- was the thing that left its greatest mark on mine.
We didn't have lots of money when I was growing up, but there was never anything we truly needed that we lacked. My mom was home with me quite a bit when I was young and in elementary school. She took the occasional temp job when extra money was needed, but she was there for me in those early years. I don't remember her going to work full-time until I was in junior high. We lived in a very modest little two-bedroom home close to our church until the end of my sixth grade year. Mom and Dad sacrificed and penny-pinched to purchase the house on Abiso when I was eleven. Though it was in Alamo Heights, the prices were extraordinarily more affordable in the early 70s than they are now. Still, money had to be handled carefully.
Mom shopped for clothes for me and for items for the house at thrift stores... something I actually hated as a pre-teen, but came to fully appreciate when I had a growing family of my own. We got our bread and pastries from the "Day Old Bakery," and dinners were planned with frugality in mind, lots of Hamburger Helper, hot dogs, and spaghetti. Mom was really good at stretching the dollar, and it never seemed to me as though we were skimping or scraping by. Life was good. God was providing for each need as it arose, and my folks always gave thanks for His abundant blessings to us.
When I became a mother myself and embarked on the journey of homeschooling, the principles of thrift that my mom had always practiced became invaluable to me. We cut our income by half, but trusted in God's provision and our desire to live modestly to bring success to our endeavor. I shopped at thrift stores for clothing for the kids and for decor items for the home, we got our bread and pastries from the "Day Old Bakery," and we also ate lots of Hamburger Helper, hot dogs, and spaghetti! I became better at stretching the dollar too, and though life was not especially grand... it was definitely good.
My folks also taught me about trust... trust in God specifically, for all my needs. Whereas the lessons on thrift were more my mom's thing, what I learned about trust came more I'd say, from my dad. I remember vividly one occasion in particular when he drove this point home. Tom and I had decided to continue our homeschooling journey through high school. That was a BIG decision for us. I was worried about more than just keeping up in the math and science departments. I was worried about the additional cost of all the books and lab equipment high school would require. My dad overheard the conversation when I was talking to my mom, and he actually got a little upset... upset at me for... worrying.
In the way only a dad can do, he said firmly, "It's only money!" That kind of shook me and shocked me a little at the same time. He went on to tell me that he and my mom would help out with whatever we needed if it came to that, but that I shouldn't stress so much about the cash... because... it's only money. What he was saying with those three tiny words was actually HUGE when I had time to let it sink in. God had gifted us with those precious kiddos. He led us to that commitment to homeschool. He had already blessed us through many years as a family of six on one income. He had brought us to that place in time... therefore He must have had a plan in mind to bring it to completion. And if the only thing that plan lacked of being successful was money.... well, that He would provide also.
You see, my dad knew that money was only a tool, a tool to be used for good... for God's good, for our good, and for our neighbor's good. He said so... many times, and he sincerely meant it. Money has no intrinsic value in and of itself. I know that sounds weird and oddly counter-intuitive, but if you think about it, it's true. The value isn't in the money itself... only in what the money can do. It can work good. It can work harm. We don't ever place trust in money. We place our trust in God who uses all kinds of means to bring about His good and perfect plans for our lives. One of those means is, yes, money, but money should never be held in higher esteem than people and relationships and God. It is but one tool among many in our toolbox, and God definitely knows how to stretch a tool. Just look at what He did with a couple of fish and a few small loaves!
We are living in some stressful times. Inflation, gas prices, and interest rates are on the climb. Financial markets are struggling to regulate. We are in a state of flux... or so it seems. Now more than ever I am glad and fortunate to have lived the life I have and to have learned some very important principles about frugality and thrift. More than that, I am blessed to know beyond a doubt where to place my confidence and trust. In the words of one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado, "If all God ever did for us was to secure for us salvation and eternal life, wouldn't that be enough?" Yet, on top of these He gives us daily bread, clothing, shelter, health, life, family....
He gives us all we need and asks but that we be good stewards of it. We needn't worry come what may. We do our utmost with the blessings and provisions God places in our hands, and then...
we trust.
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