Grace for today...not tomorrow

I was visiting with a friend a couple houses down from us the other day. We were talking about the economy and how we have become a society of consumers. Our homes are consumer households. We purchase our food, our water, our energy, our clothes, etc.

A few decades ago it wasn't that way. I can't remember ever as a family going to the local Wal-Mart, yet somehow we had food to eat, clothes to wear, actual Tupperware :). Mom used to make most of our clothes. We hung our laundry on the line to dry. Many of our meals didn't contain steak or a roast, but when they did my mom could make a roast last for 5 meals. We ate a lot of fruits, veggies and beans. And we were healthy. We played outside until it got dark, or dinner was ready. And we had 3 T.V. channels in black and white (that has nothing to do with my message today but I just had to throw that in there)

Aaahhhh...the good old days.

Many of us are going back to that kind of lifestyle. We have a clothes line and as I was hanging laundry out the other day it dawned on me that, really, everything we need to exist and even thrive is a gift from God. The wind, the sun, the rain. I love the fact that I can dry my laundry without having to pay FPL. I love that I can collect the rain water for the garden without having to pay Lee County Utilities. I love that I can take the seeds from our fruits and vegetables, put them in some dirt (again a gift from God) and harvest food for our table. And none of this is difficult stuff.

As my friend and I were talking, we both shared our concerns in our lives and our finances and she said something that really hit my heart. She said "I just keep reminding myself that God gives us enough grace for today, not tomorrow. And I know that as much as I love my kids and give good things to them and take care of them, God loves us even more, and I know we are going to be ok."

I'd never thought of it quite like that but it's true.

He gives us enough grace for today...I accept that.

Until next time...