Ben asked the question yesterday. “What feeds your soul?” I answered with, creativity. All forms. Painting the house, sewing, music etc. It’s really more…I like adding value to things and to people.
Today, I’m painting the house. Getting the trim spruced up and hopefully getting to the walls too. I remember a time when we were redoing our house to get it rented. I always loved that house but I had let so many things get into a state of disrepair that I eventually got to a place of overwhelm. I saw it as a burden and no longer a blessing. The thought of moving, renting it out, working towards paying off debt and one day selling it was appealing to me. It was no longer adding value to my life.
The next few months we started investing in it. I started painting, fixing and doing all the things that I had put off. Little quirks were getting fixed. Dirt was being cleaned off. I was preparing it for someone else and getting “me” out of it. It was a great feeling. But at the end of it all I sat back and looked and remembered what a marvelous thing I had in front of me. I reminisced on the memories of my children growing up. I saw the potential to make it even better and imagined adding “me” back into it. At that point it was too late and contracts were signed.
When we add value to what is in front of us, not for our sake but just for the fact of being a good steward, our view changes. You can’t take and take continually and not expect to deplete what you’re taking from. Whether it’s a house, car or person. So,
What or who have you been taking from? What car have you been driving that needs a tune up? Where have you been piling your dirty laundry? Who have you been dumping all your problems on and are now at a place of unrest with? How many times have you come to God begging for him to fix something and then walked away the moment you got what you wanted? What or who have you been taking from?
Can we just go ahead and commit to not doing that anymore? Let’s be good stewards and be determined to add value back into the things we are responsible for. A quick coat of paint, a thank you note to a friend, a moment to laugh with your kids, date night, scheduling your dental cleaning, taking your vitamins – all little ways that we can be better stewards of our possesions, realtionships and ourselves!
Anna Marcella's 