God's Economy

Shopping Saturday afternoon it truly hit me that our economy had gone astray. Why it finally took me Saturday to realize it, I am unsure? From pork to graham crackers to a can of corn, everything was nearly $.10-.80 higher then it had been three months ago. Maybe it was the combination of hearing another friend lose a job, acquaintances losing homes, or another small business throwing in the towel. Whatever it was...I left FEAR creep into my heart on Saturday.

God has always provided for me...clothes, food, water, shelter. I have never gone without. Sure, there are things I've "wanted" in my life that never came to fruition, but my basic needs have always been supplied. Sometimes marketing and social society get the best of us and skew our ideas of "wants" and "needs". We begin to live in today's economy instead of God's economy.

After my shopping experience I came home and chatted with Drew about the higher prices. He, too, was surprised but thankful I am a smart shopper and purchased only the items we needed. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that FEAR was creeping in. We've had always been smart with our money/blessings...saving where we can and buying only the necessities, making or growing our own things. However, Saturday I couldn't stop thinking that maybe it wouldn't be ENOUGH. Fear was turning into WORRY.

As I continued along my Saturday and Sunday I continued to worry about things around me...would our jobs change, would we have unexpected expenses like hospital or car bills, would the market crash. WORRY AND FEAR had settled into my heart. It wasn't until I harvested tomatoes Sunday evening that the FEAR and WORRY went away.

As I begin to pick tomatoes and pick tomatoes and pick tomatoes (get the picture here...), I begin to see that the small basket I had brought to the garden wasn't enough. Not only was it not enough, it was INFERIOR. God had provided an ABUNDANCE, an abundance so big my normal basket was not enough to carry the weight of the produce. Each fruit wasn't fair winning but instead represented a meal, substance to sustain our family through the long rainy months ahead. God had provided ENOUGH.

I can't control what the world is doing around me...inflation, markets crashing, friends loosing jobs. But, I can control the worry and fear in my life. Worry and fear are not necessary in God's economy. He takes care of every need. We need to learn to TRUST him...I was reminded in my garden.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important then food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:25-27

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean