This Thrifty Heart

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."                        Colossians 3:12-15

I am addicted to second-hand stuff.  This mama of four is in heaven on garage sale weekend.  When our tax refund came in, the only place I thought of shopping at was Goodwill. And don't even get me started on how often I am on Craigslist looking for a steal after the kids are in bed.

Sometimes it is necessity.  In fact, to be honest, tomorrow is pay day and we've been scootin' along the last week just hoping to get there.  I think a lot more people are in the same boat than our society realizes or admits.  It is not that we spend carelessly, things just add up quickly and then life gets in the way of our best laid saving plans.

So, I have become obsessive with the good deal.  I love Pinterest, watch Flea Market Flip as much as my hubby watches Cubs baseball at night, and could probably count on one hand the number of items in my closet I spent over $15 on.  (not exaggerating)  I am pretty proud of myself when I walk out the door knowing that I am head-to-toe less than $25.

In this soul searching, however, I find there are times when I am also thrifty with my heart...and that's not good.  My stubborn heart does not forgive as quickly as it should and is not as generous with love as it could be to people in my life.  How quick I am to forget that I myself am a sinner who Jesus paid FULL PRICE for when he died on the cross.

In return for this (literal) deal of a lifetime, I owe nothing.  The "Goodwill" of God paid for everything I ever need.

Ever feel like your heart is holding back from forgiving others?  That's when we need to remember that we are to love our neighbors (friends, spouses, coworkers, children, etc) as Jesus loves us....with compassion, with grace, with forgiveness.  WITHOUT thriftiness but instead with ALL of our hearts.