Monday, October 24, 2011

Becoming Abnormal

Today I had so much going on at work but there was one thought that I could not get out of my head. It had been rolling around bugging me all day. I finally had to put my pen to paper and write it down. Sometimes the Lord uses the every day mundane chores of life to speak to me.

So much is on the news about the economy in trouble, people losing their homes, life is in turmoil. I see people who seemingly months ago had it all and was not shy about showing off the latest gadget or gizmo's that they had purchased for either themselves or their children. Today it is a different story with a lot of those people that have chosen to live well above their means. All one has to do is check out the garage sales lately or Craig's List to see there is a plethora of STUFF cluttering up people's homes and lives.

Today this thought came into my head as I was pondering the current state of affairs in our Nation:

"Pursuing all the popular "stuff" of life leads to cluttered homes, hearts and minds. Discontentment becomes your new normal. Be abnormal!"

I want to be abnormal! I do not want to keep up with the Joneses or to have the latest and greatest technological toy. Thank you very much! I like being debt free and having choices in life! Currently having three children in college is quite a stretch but sacrificing for my family is not a hardship. Trying to keep up with the latest and greatest only keeps people broke and for the most part discontent.

So from now on I am going to embrace the abnormal and live unlike most today. If I don't have an iPhone so be it. I don't have to have all the accouterments to really enjoy life. I am on a mission to declutter and get rid of even my excess so that I can live my life more richly and simply.

I think my battle cry for the next few months as all the gift buying frenzy begins is to embrace being abnormal. I will enjoy getting my mail in January knowing that we lived within our means and gave meaningful and thoughtful gifts to our loved ones.

Whose with me?