Recently in my time with God, friends, reading books, conversations, and in prayer I keep being drawn to the idea of just enough. What does it mean to live with just enough? To have just enough (time, resources, stuff, capacity to love, ability to make a difference)? To eat just enough? To make just enough money?
Then, yesterday, I came across this verse in Proverbs 30:8 which was, coincidentally, the same verse that a friend was just talking about a day before:
"give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread"
and it goes on to say in verse 9 "Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
In a country filled with affluence contrasted with deep poverty it's easy to visualize both scenarios: having too much and forgetting the giver of all good gifts (therefore acting with no regard to the well-being of others) and having too little and living in bondage to poverty and hunger. With a prayer asking God to give me only my daily bread, that means just enough for the day so that I will continue to remember and thank Him for his provisions; no more, no less.
While reading the book Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure (remember DJ from Full House? yeah, her), she led us to a verse also found in Proverbs but in chapter 25 verse 16:
"if you find honey, eat just enough."
Eating just enough to fuel my body and satisfy my hunger and not so much that I feel like over-full. One of my goals in this 'new year' is to eat until I'm satisfied rather than until I'm already full (because by then, it's too much!).
Cleaning through the contents of my entire house was a great lesson in learning what I truly need to live. Does a person really need that many shirts? How many sets of dishes is enough for a family? [just one set, thank you]. How many pairs of shoes do I really need? [this was the hard one...]. How much stuff do I need to live comfortably? The answer was surprisingly less than what I had originally thought.
How much space does a family really need? I know of families of six that live in a house the size of my current bedroom. All together. Tight squeeze. As we're on our way to England, we will be downsizing from a 2400 sq.ft. house to a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom flat (apartment) which will be enough for our family of four.
The monetary monthly income we currently have is half of what it was a year and a half ago. We learned during that time of plenty to live on just what we need and to give the rest. So now, we are living the same lifestyle but (unfortunately) don't have as much to give away to great organizations/people/ministries. Thankfully we are nearly debt-free (except for our house) and we have learned to discipline ourselves and our spending habits.
As Westerners, it's difficult to not get wrapped up in the idea of living the "normal" lifestyle. Our house, by Western standards, is "perfect" for our family. In addition to the master bedroom with a bathroom and walk-in closet, each child has her own bedroom, we have a sizable kitchen and a cozy living room in our upper level and we have a family room/school room along with an office and an extra bedroom and bathroom for guests in the lower level of our house. Right now we have a family of four living with us - now I finally feel like our space isn't wasted.
I'm enjoying this journey of learning how to live with just enough. To be contented and crazy-happy and free in the knowledge that what I have is my daily bread and I need not worry about what tomorrow will bring (although I'm kind of hoping it will bring my VISA. just sayin'). My prayer is the same as the wise man who wrote the Proverb: give me neither too much nor too little; only just enough for this day so that I will continually praise You.
Cleaning through the contents of my entire house was a great lesson in learning what I truly need to live. Does a person really need that many shirts? How many sets of dishes is enough for a family? [just one set, thank you]. How many pairs of shoes do I really need? [this was the hard one...]. How much stuff do I need to live comfortably? The answer was surprisingly less than what I had originally thought.
How much space does a family really need? I know of families of six that live in a house the size of my current bedroom. All together. Tight squeeze. As we're on our way to England, we will be downsizing from a 2400 sq.ft. house to a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom flat (apartment) which will be enough for our family of four.
The monetary monthly income we currently have is half of what it was a year and a half ago. We learned during that time of plenty to live on just what we need and to give the rest. So now, we are living the same lifestyle but (unfortunately) don't have as much to give away to great organizations/people/ministries. Thankfully we are nearly debt-free (except for our house) and we have learned to discipline ourselves and our spending habits.
As Westerners, it's difficult to not get wrapped up in the idea of living the "normal" lifestyle. Our house, by Western standards, is "perfect" for our family. In addition to the master bedroom with a bathroom and walk-in closet, each child has her own bedroom, we have a sizable kitchen and a cozy living room in our upper level and we have a family room/school room along with an office and an extra bedroom and bathroom for guests in the lower level of our house. Right now we have a family of four living with us - now I finally feel like our space isn't wasted.
I'm enjoying this journey of learning how to live with just enough. To be contented and crazy-happy and free in the knowledge that what I have is my daily bread and I need not worry about what tomorrow will bring (although I'm kind of hoping it will bring my VISA. just sayin'). My prayer is the same as the wise man who wrote the Proverb: give me neither too much nor too little; only just enough for this day so that I will continually praise You.
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