The Envy monster!

The Envy monster is something everyone has to deal with in their lives.  Some monsters rear their ugly head when a friend makes a frivolous purchase but yet you can barely put food on the table.  Envy monsters might also appear when your friend gets pregnant and you aren't able to have kids. Or they may sneak up on you when you least expect it for hundreds of other reasons.  But the bottom line is we all have them: ugly, sneaky, little envy monsters that frustrate and sometimes even incite bitterness in our lives.

So why, you may ask am I writing about an envy monster on a money saving blog?  Well the truth is my envy monster seems to appear the most when it relates to money.   I often find myself envious of those who can spend money freely, without giving a second thought to how it might impact their family budget.  I find myself envious when I see someone with a new car, ipad, or (insert shiny new toy here).  I find myself envious when I see a friend that gets to stay at home with their children and still has more expenable income then I do.  We scrimp and save and still can't afford a lot of luxuries of life.  However it's when I become so envious that God reminds me to be content. 

It's when I realized that although our family might not be able to afford many luxuries, we can put food on the table while others around the world don't have a scrap of food to eat.  That is when I am content.  It's when I realize that some people will never be blessed with a child that remember my  wonderful son. That is when I feel content.

It's when I realize that when I die no one will care about how much money I had, how nice my furniture was or what model car I drove.  What my children will remember is how I loved them, and  what my husband will remember is how I cared for him.  That is when I am content.

Contentment is something that doesn't comes naturally to us as humans.  We have to work at it.  We have to remind ourselves that in a world that is obsessed with money and material items that those things aren't important.  It's our relationships in life, with others and ultimately with God that bring true meaning to a richly filled existence.