What I Know for Sure… Results May Vary

I know this woman who told me that I was a struggling artist because God does not love me. She is rich and she has a lot of money because God favors her. God favored her parents and they also had a lot of financial resources. I was not as blessed because I was not one of God’s favorites. She called for some time inviting me to come to her big house and hang out with her. She was very generous with her steadily amassing wealth and would share it with her less fortunate friends so they could travel with her or otherwise enjoy her blessings. She even helped me out once when I needed financial support with something involving my children. After listening to the lecture that followed the “gift,” I realized something… She is lonely. She is tragically and obviously unfulfilled in her insatiable quest for emotional sustenance. With all of her financial wealth, she is emotionally bankrupt still starving.

I have the same amount of bedrooms and bathrooms as the woman I described. Only I don’t have room for an office or a guest room because I have a house full of folks most times. I dream of the moments where I am home alone sitting in silence. I have an impossible calendar that includes many social obligations to the people I love and support. I pretend to complain about it all the time, threatening to run away to a far off island and live among the bugs and animals. But… It will be a few months before I can buy a ticket… so they are lucky this time. At the end of one of my idle threats, I looked around at everyone laughing. They knew I wouldn’t leave them and even as the children are getting older and moving out into the world, they will always be mine. They are my fortune and the return on all my investments.

What I Know for Sure… is results may vary. If you spend too much of your time coveting someone else’s life or possessions or blessing, you will miss the one that was meant for you. I had a chance to live in a big house and live a rich life. I chose to be a struggling artist because the cost of that life was much more than I was willing to pay. I didn’t need to. I was already rich beyond my imagination. I have kids who adore me and want to be like me or impress me. I have love in so many genuine forms that to attempt to count them is exhausting. My blessing doesn’t look like anyone else’s blessing. Their blessing don’t look anything like mine. But God’s love for me makes me feel like I don’t need anything else… well… a new car would be nice.