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Tea Time Tuesday
A grateful heart sees the fingerprints of God in normal every day circumstances, be they great or challenging.
Many years ago, as a young, idealistic mama, I wanted to provide my children with the best experiences, opportunities, books, toys, bikes, lessons — the things we all feel pressured to provide for our children. When we started Whole Heart Ministries, though, we moved to a tiny country town, where we lived with my mother-in-law and got by on a very negligible salary for several years.
Shopping at Goodwill was the way to go, as we could not afford department stores. Spending at the grocery store sometimes made me feel guilty, because we just didn't have much money. Our budget didn't allow for the things I thought my children needed.
Yet looking back, I can see that living in the country with lots of space to roam, only a few friends, lots and lots of time together as a family is probably the best thing that could have happened to my children. Because we did not have lots of toys, our children learned to pretend, create their own stories, draw and study nature, make up games, read lots of books, and spend lots of time outdoors with animals.
Because there was not even an option to have lots of "things," they became thankful for what they had. I was the only one who had any idea that they might be missing out, because I was listening to the voices of my peers. They were blissfully unaware. Life to them was a joyful adventure where we had a little community called “Clarkson.” There was no need to be constantly entertained, because we did not have lots of media, gadgets, and toys, so they had not learned to expect them, and there were few neighbors nearby to tempt them with toys they did not have.
Working, sharing, patiently waiting their turn were some of the ways God built thankfulness into my children's hearts.
We learned through this season to be thankful for sunrises, sunsets, for long wanders in grassy fields near our home. I was not smart enough to choose this for my family, but God in His wisdom knew just what my children needed to build character, to teach them to be grateful for a simple life. He used our circumstances to train them!