Feeling Deprived by Rhonda Barfield
In Sunday morning church the other day, the pastor asked us to make a mental checklist of the sins that we found most tempting, then the ones that were least tempting. It was easy for me to check off â??envyâ?? as one that tempts me least. Then, just a few days laterâ?? God's little jokeâ?? I found myself in a situation where I was fiercely envious. Not only did I covet my neighbor's large, expensive house, I also experienced a deep sense of feeling deprived.
I've learned, from past experience, that my feelings of being deprived usually occur when I am not content. I stop thanking God for what He has given me. I look around at my circumstances and compare them to others', higher up the material scale. Then I repent and try to start anew. And at such times, I try to remember my Aunt Goldie and Uncle Russell.
Goldie, now 94, and Russ, deceased, were a couple whose lives mirrored contentment. I vividly remember riding my bike the half mile across town to their five room house. Aunt Goldie always took the time to come sit with me on the back porch swing, where together we sipped iced drinks and watched the birds in her large garden.
Gardening was a relaxing pasttime for Goldie, but she also canned all her
vegetables and blackberries for winter meals. She sewed some of her and Russ's clothes; the rest were hand-me-downs. Russ salvaged all sorts of household treasures from neighbors' cast-offs.
My aunt and uncle's idea of a â??big day outâ?? was to pack a picnic lunch, drive to a rural church yard, park, and eat in the car (windows down) while enjoying the scenic view. Occasionally they splurged on a meal out, usually two Maid-rite sandwiches from the local Dairy Dipper.
When Goldie and Russ were married more than seventy years ago, they saved diligently until they could pay cash for their house. (Cash, imagine!) The next item of business was to buy a car. They walked or hitched rides everywhere they went until they could afford to pay cash for that, too. When Aunt Goldie decided sheâ™d like to have a sofa, and sofas were out of their price range, Uncle Russ got busy and made one himself. He also built chairs and tables, a back patio, and an enclosed front porch for the house.
Uncle Russ worked a low-paying job as a city worker; his pension to my aunt, now his widow, is a mere $40 a month. During their long marriage, Aunt Goldie was never employed outside the home. Yet together she and Russ lived a simple and debt-free life, with a modest savings account as well. Money was truly a side issue for them, with their main focus on family, friends, church, community.
By today's standards, Goldie and Russ were poor, thus earning them the now-popular right to feel deprived. But as far as I know, they never did.
This article is reprinted with permission of Money Matters, Crown Financial Ministries, 601 Broad Street, S.E., Gainesville, GA 30501.
About the author:
Rhonda Barfield is the author of Real-Life Homeschooling: The Stories of 21 Families Who Teach Their Children at Home, Feed Your Family for $12 a Day (both available by ordering through most bookstores nationwide or amazon.com), and 15-Minute Cooking (a self-published book). For more information, visit
www.lilacpublishing.com.
