Grateful

Today, while driving home, I noticed that gas has once again gone up...to $3.79. That hurts. Bad. And what hurts even worse is the forecast of gas for the summer. The other day, Nate began to tell me about the predictions for the summer, and I stopped him and said "I just don't want to know. It will just make me depressed, so just don't tell me." It's so easy to get down and depressed about finances and the economy. It's really easy when you don't have a lot of flexibility in your budget for increases like gas...or food (which I have noticed some prices going up lately)...or medical bills. Other than our first year of marriage, this past year has been the first time we have really had to watch our budget and spending. It was actually the first year since our first year of marriage to have rent and utility bills! Makes a huge difference in the budget!

The other day, I asked Nate something that had really been bugging me. We both are very giving people and have a strong heart for missions and the needs there, and I feel that if we had more financially, we would be really good about giving and supporting where there are needs. Then why doesn't God bless us with more? Does He not trust us to be responsible and giving if we had more money? Nate thought for a while and answered with this thought -- "At this time in our lives, if we had more money, do you think it would be a temptation to spend it on ourselves? More on a house down payment, more for a nicer car, more for our kids? What if He is teaching us what is really important and what we can really live with? What if He is teaching us that we don't need the best of everything or what everyone else has? Maybe this is a teaching time for us." Interesting...and maybe very true.

Even with finances being so tight, when I really think about it, we are still very very blessed with what we have. When we first moved into this rental house a few months ago and our rent went up $350, I was scared we wouldn't be able to afford it. We shouldn't be able to realistically, but somehow, we have never come up short. At least not yet! We have a nice down payment for a house, when that right house comes along. We have some in retirement. We have some in a car fund...for we desperately need a new car for Nate in the near future. We have an emergency fund and a 3-6 months fund (can you tell we listen to Dave Ramsey? :). We have everything we realistically need. Not everything we want. We have two "small" cars with two kids instead of a larger, more convenient van/SUV. We have one prepaid cell phone that we share (no internet/apps/camera/etc...). The only I-thing we have is an old ipod from years ago. We are very old-school in technology. But that's very ok with us. We live a simple life...because that is what we can afford. But that is also what we want for our family. We don't need a complicated life, filled with lots of things to divert our attention. I get distracted enough with what I already have! And I have so much more than what the majority of the world has. I have to remind myself daily about where we used to live, how we saw people live there, and the rest of the world that we have never been to but know their lives are so much harder than my own. I seriously doubt that no matter how bad the economy gets here, that my life will ever compare to many around the world. I am blessed and grateful for what I have. Even if that means I never take my kids to Disney World or have the latest technology. Life is so much more than that.

And I'll probably have to remind myself of all this again tomorrow when I see that the gas prices increased overnight...again... :)