Life is good. I'm sitting on my front porch on a bench my father-in-law gave us. I'm typing this on a laptop my work allows me to use via wireless internet, courtesy of a router my friend is loaning us. I'm drinking diet Dr. Pepper caffeine free that a thoughtful friend gave me for my birthday. All this under a blue sky on clear the Lord gave me.
I feel a spirit of abundance, of bounty and peace in my life. But this feeling is not linked to my bank account, nor does it grow from a lack of troubles and stress. To the contrary. It might shock you to find out that middle school drama and music teachers are not quite as highly paid as some other professions (although, my employer is very generous). It might further shock you to know that having five kids makes it hard to get by some times. We're not in danger of starving or of being homeless, but some of the niceties and assumptions of most middle class families are usually beyond our reach. I'm not complaining--in fact, I think it's actually been a net positive for us. Yes, I feel bad telling my daughter we can't afford a cell phone when all her friends have them. Yes, I wish we could give our kids braces and possibly even their own rooms. But we can't. And they'll be fine. You see, we're on the Lilies of the Field/Fowls of the Air plan. I work as hard as I can and we do the best we can with what we have--and then the Lord provides the rest. It's actually a great plan. Obviously, it doesn't replace personal effort. It magnifies it. It's the temporal expression of the spiritual truth, We are saved by grace after all we can do." Being a Lily of the Field means that if you are patient and calm, if you work hard, you will have the things you need, and, even some of the things you don't need, but really want. For example, we're all pretty darned excited because we got high speed last week. Hitherto, we've been doing dial-up because that's what we could afford. On a computer that was about ten years old, also what we could afford. Then our computer died. Just stopped. We wore that pore thing out. A little bonus for a job Mere did allowed us to get a new (but modest) one. Now, my son is doing an online physics class (just what I would have done in high school if the internet had been invented back then!!!!) and we had to get the high speed stuff. We were blessed to find a great deal, which costs us very little. Then, a friend let me use his wireless router, which was super nice. So, here we are in the digital age. Yes, we're a long way behind everyone, but it hasn't really hurt us or caused any lasting problems. In fact, to the contrary, it might be that we are so excited at finally getting it that it's more fun than it would have been otherwise. We have what we want and we're happy with it. That is part of being a Lily of the Field.
12 Comments
9/6/2010 10:17:13 am
Hey, it's not until you know the difference that you realize what you have been missing.
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jo
9/6/2010 03:39:26 pm
Loved your expressions of gratitude and faith, Brade! Both such important ingredients for happiness.
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Of course, the lilies of the field 'toil not, neither do they spin'. You do plenty of both. And where the lily 'today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven', you are laying up for yourself and your family greater treasures. Not by simply sitting there in your field, content to passively soak in whatever Water or Light may come your way, but by actively seeking to establish the kingdom of God, and also working diligently to ensure that the necessary things of life are added to you and your family.
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Tauna
9/7/2010 12:10:18 pm
If I had a way with words like DeNae I would have said it first.
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Melanie J
9/7/2010 06:37:28 pm
I love your attitude.
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Natalie
9/7/2010 06:39:23 pm
Beautiful thoughts Braden. I love your gratitude. I think being without some of the so-called "must haves" can be such a good thing and helps us appreciate when we are blessed so much more. The way you are raising your kids is worth SOOOO much more than any cell phone. But I also know how it is with kids and all they want. And I'm glad you got the new computer and high speed. I will say that it is awfully hard to go back once you have high speed.
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Ryan
9/9/2010 01:27:11 am
Very poignant post, Brade. Thanks for sharing.
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9/9/2010 02:16:13 am
Beautiful, Birdo. I've realized what a bad job I usually do at being a content Lily in the Field, so this is inspiring to me. You and Mere have always been a great example of this principle to me.
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