Excuse me, but how rich are you? Before you take that as a personal question, I’ll explain what I mean by “rich”. I don’t mean that you won $20 million in the lottery, or that you signed a six-figure advance for The Great American Novel. No, I mean rich inwardly.
For example, one Friday evening I spent time with my friend and her family. The conversation revolved around various topics. We didn’t solve any of the world’s problems. Yet, as I walked into my house I thought, “I am rich”.
The next day I drove over to my cousin’s house. We try to get together every so often. We talked a long time about different things. It was a “rich” time.
One day I waved someone out to go out of a parking lot ahead of me. A little, everyday gesture? Sure –, but I felt rich because that day I had patience and self-control enough to put someone else first. (That doesn’t always happen!)
I feel rich when I look out the front door and see the abundance of flowers blooming and the beauty of nature, whatever the season. I feel rich when I can help someone else out – even if that means feeding the chickadees, titmice, cardinals, and other birds in the winter. I know they appreciate it! I feel rich when thinking of God’s love for me, as illustrated by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Do you see what I mean by “rich”? This way of looking at things enables anyone to be rich, no matter the size of the bank account. True, it doesn’t pay any utility bill, or put food on the table, but it just might help you to save money to do those things. How? When I can appreciate these things, I am less tempted to go out and buy material things I don’t really need to fill something inside me.
So – how rich are you?
P. Booher
Country Ripples 
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