Plenty

When is ‘enough’, enough?  At what point have our needs become wants?  Since this last autumn, I’ve been feeling God working in me to teach me where that line is… and to trust Him in providing ‘enough’.

Actually, the lessons have been going on for a very long time but I haven’t been a good pupil.  But last fall I started learning to listen.

While we were in Scotland, we spent time on the tiny island of Colonsay.  If you read my blog about our stay there, you might have noticed I mentioned to bring a good amount of cash with you as there were no ATM machines on the entire island (I had been told there were on a tourist forum).

The day before we were to leave, it was time to pay for our B&B.  I asked where the ATM was so I could get cash.  That is when I was told there was no ATM!!  Oh no!!!  I was soon digging into my wallet and Himself’s wallet gathering our cash.  All laid out, it looked as tho we were about 20 pounds short.  Highly embarrassed I told our B&B host what had happened.  He just smiled and said when we get to the main land to get the money and mail it over to him.  Can you believe it??  

But when I was back in our room – feeling bad – I had a wave of peace and the feeling that I did have “plenty”.  As I sat there mulling this, I felt to look a small bag of books.  There were all sorts of coins in the bottom of it.  I dumped them onto the bed and was amazed to see that I had 22 pound, 69 pence…  

Plenty.

But what is ‘plenty’ doesn’t just apply to money.  It is also things.

That is being hammered in as I clean out our shed.  As I cull my thought is often “How many are enough?”  How many frames?  How many boxes of nails?  How many lumber scraps?  How many… how many?  Do I even need any at all?

And plenty is also food.

How many pieces of chicken is enough?  How large of a slice of pie?  Why does it all have to be “cleaned up”?  Can’t it be lunch tomorrow? 

Want vs. need.  Do I need a food processor or is my very good knife and a cutting board enough?  Do I need a $300 chef’s knife or is the $100 knife sufficient for what I will use it for? 

As I consider what I “need” or what I “must have”, I realize my greatest need is to be grateful for what I do have and not be anxious to have more.

That is when you truly know you have “plenty”.