a rich man's problem
This phrase has become vernacular at our church. Pastor Randy used it in a sermon series on generosity last year. It stuck with me. I gotta admit I use it a lot. Especially after being reminded that the "majority world" lives on less than $2 a day. I am in the 25% of the world that is rich. I have rich man problems. I ponder things solely on the fact that I do not worry about where my next meal is. I do not worry about whether clean water will flow from my tap today. I have clothing without holes, cars that run well, and time for leisure in my life. The list could go on and on.
Tonight I tackled a project I've put off since Tate's birthday this past weekend. Yeah, I know it's only Monday, but we actually celebrated Tate's birthday with friends and family LAST weekend. He got a lot of new things with which to play, and I've been meaning to "graft" them into his toy rotation. Hee hee, I'm kinda one of those "superish" moms who sorts her child's toys into bins so that he can play with different things each week in effort that he would not tire too easily of his things. I've been committed to this for a few months now. It's a bit of a drudgery to get started, but the end product is so fulfilling that it fuels my obsessive compulsive energy to keep it up. I get out the empty bin, put all the pieces to all the toys back together, and figure out the jigsaw puzzle of getting them all back in the bin. Then I get out next week's bin and carefully arrange the "new" things in his toy closet. It seriously rocks. I highly recommend it. Tate plays with things that he forgot about with vigor! Also, it's a little restrictive as to how MUCH is out in any given week. This adoptive mommy thinks about things like that to avoid over-stimulation, and I've actually noticed he plays longer with things as a result. He can actually see what he has this way. Ok, ok, I'll get off my "toy box" now.
Back to the reason for this post. I was getting ready to write a Facebook status, and I realized I had more to say than is acceptable for a one or two line status. As I was sorting all his new birthday gifts and adding them to what I already have in each bin, I was convicted. Wow. We have plenty, in fact we have more than we need. Don't get me wrong. My sweet boy has gone without in his life, and in a way it's easy to get sucked down the slippery slope of the "he deserves this" mentality. But, I looked at his stash and thought of other boys and girls who have no idea what a toy rotation is. They play with whatever is available, i.e. empty water bottles or patched up soccer balls. In a lot of ways there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, it seems the photos I've seen, or the faces first hand from my travels are always covered in smiles. They have joy. They don't understand the rich man's problem of finding a place to put all of our stuff. They shouldn't either. If you ask me less is more in this case.
I don't write these things to guilt anyone, I was just reminded to be thankful for the things I have. Be content. Try and live as simply as possible. Avoid over-indulgence. Let go of a mindset that our "minority world" here in the US has all the answers or has all the blessing of God. The trappings of this life do just that. They trap us. Remember to hold these things loosely, they could be taken from us at any time.
The most important thing I want Mr. Tate to learn is his identity in Christ.
THIS knowledge will make him truly rich.
Tonight I tackled a project I've put off since Tate's birthday this past weekend. Yeah, I know it's only Monday, but we actually celebrated Tate's birthday with friends and family LAST weekend. He got a lot of new things with which to play, and I've been meaning to "graft" them into his toy rotation. Hee hee, I'm kinda one of those "superish" moms who sorts her child's toys into bins so that he can play with different things each week in effort that he would not tire too easily of his things. I've been committed to this for a few months now. It's a bit of a drudgery to get started, but the end product is so fulfilling that it fuels my obsessive compulsive energy to keep it up. I get out the empty bin, put all the pieces to all the toys back together, and figure out the jigsaw puzzle of getting them all back in the bin. Then I get out next week's bin and carefully arrange the "new" things in his toy closet. It seriously rocks. I highly recommend it. Tate plays with things that he forgot about with vigor! Also, it's a little restrictive as to how MUCH is out in any given week. This adoptive mommy thinks about things like that to avoid over-stimulation, and I've actually noticed he plays longer with things as a result. He can actually see what he has this way. Ok, ok, I'll get off my "toy box" now.
Back to the reason for this post. I was getting ready to write a Facebook status, and I realized I had more to say than is acceptable for a one or two line status. As I was sorting all his new birthday gifts and adding them to what I already have in each bin, I was convicted. Wow. We have plenty, in fact we have more than we need. Don't get me wrong. My sweet boy has gone without in his life, and in a way it's easy to get sucked down the slippery slope of the "he deserves this" mentality. But, I looked at his stash and thought of other boys and girls who have no idea what a toy rotation is. They play with whatever is available, i.e. empty water bottles or patched up soccer balls. In a lot of ways there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, it seems the photos I've seen, or the faces first hand from my travels are always covered in smiles. They have joy. They don't understand the rich man's problem of finding a place to put all of our stuff. They shouldn't either. If you ask me less is more in this case.
I don't write these things to guilt anyone, I was just reminded to be thankful for the things I have. Be content. Try and live as simply as possible. Avoid over-indulgence. Let go of a mindset that our "minority world" here in the US has all the answers or has all the blessing of God. The trappings of this life do just that. They trap us. Remember to hold these things loosely, they could be taken from us at any time.
The most important thing I want Mr. Tate to learn is his identity in Christ.
THIS knowledge will make him truly rich.
Beautifully written post. Super cute play area too.
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