A Lesson For Everyone

We have it so good, you know. The past few days we have really been trying to get Liam to understand the concept of wasting. A few of the things we are trying to get him to see are:

~ if you leave a light on and aren't in the room, that is wasting energy, which costs money.

~ if you get something to eat, take a few bites then throw the rest away, that is wasting food, which costs money.

Those are just two, but they are the most prominent right now. He has gotten better with the lights, but the food is still a concept that is a little far away sometimes. We sat at the dinner table one day in the last few days and talked with him about how good we have it. We have everything we need - there may be some things we want, but we are taken care of.

We sat and told him that we have a roof over our head, clothes, shoes, plenty of food to eat, a great school to go to and a wonderful church to learn more about God at. We had to explain that there are lots of people who don't have all or any of those things. Josh and I sponsor a little girl, Maggie, from Africa through Kids Alive. We used her as a tool to get him to see how much we have and what we should be thankful for.

Then over the weekend, my brother and sister-in-law had a couple from Africa over because they are part of a ministry over there. Pete and Nat are looking into joining this group. So as we were getting to know Ben and Carole, little bits of what their lives were like came out. Liam was not there for the whole thing, but was able to experience a little of what they have and don't have. Ben has never been over to the states before and we had ordered pizza for dinner on Friday night - this was the first time he had ever had pizza. For us, it is a normal thing to have pizza and very easy to get if we have the money.

Anyway, as we were trying to get Liam to understand the idea of wasting, it still got to me just how much we have and should be thankful for. There are so many people out there who struggle daily financially. I need to be thankful for all the little things that we have and I should not take for granted anything because it can all be taken away. I am truly blessed to have an amazing husband, two great little boys, a place to live, food in the cabinets, clothes to wear, a vehicle to get around in, the ability to be a stay at home mom and so much more. God always provides! And we should be thankful and not wasteful!