Recently I watched half an episode of "Till Debt Do Us Part" with Gail Vaz-Oxlade who goes into homes of couples who are near financial ruin and gives them the tools and advice to get out of debt and stay out. I took a look at her website this week which I'll post here, lots of really good articles on there! I read something in her introduction of herself that intrigued me:
I’m all about change, and I believe that we can have anything we want in life…anything. It’s all a matter of what’s important to us and how hard we’re prepared to bust our butts. I also believe that a well-balanced life is one of the keys to happiness, and so I strive to achieve a sense of balance.
OK, this is probably a very humanistic paragraph, but with that said I think she's a very level headed lady. Christians can apply this strategy to their lives too. Obviously if you want in life is a pet elephant in your backyard that's probably not going to happen. I think what she means is if you adjust what your view of a satisfying, fulfilling life is you can enjoy the blessings in your life and quit whining and complaining about what you don't have. If you adjust your view of what you think you deserve as opposed to what you've earned then you can be content with what you have. You can set goals and work hard to achieve them. Doesn't God also call us to do that?
This makes me think of the women who've said to me "That's nice you can stay home we're not able to do that, we can't get by without my income." (Here we go... this is one of my pet peeves...)
It is not a question of what they are able to do. It's a question of what they are WILLING to do. Many families would consider what Ryan and I (and many of our friends) are living on to be totally inadequate. But it's totally how you look at it. I would never say the choice we made is the choice everyone should make. But I don't want to hear people make excuses.
If they wanted more than anything to stay home with their kid(s), nothing would have stopped them. So if they've made a different choice than us they ought not pretend it was out of necessity! They could say they loved their job and felt they could have both, they could say they wanted to give their family a certain quality of life and therefore chose to work, they could say they always felt they should contribute monetarily to the family income, they could say they love their career and staying home full time would have made them nuts. But pretending the only reason they don't do as I do is because it was impossible for them belittles me and the career (yes CAREER) choice that I have made. (end rant)
Once I became a mother what I wanted most out of life was to give my kids the best of me for their first five years. I've gotten what I wanted. Sure along the way I had to give up some other things I would have liked too but I picked what was most important to me and now I don't get to whine.
Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God. Ecclesiastes 5:19
http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/
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