More Than Enough Vs. Just Enough

This year has been trying for many families and ours is no different. I like to plan so naturally in January I began to plan 2020. I decided I'd take the summer off to spend with my kids, volunteer at church, and continue praying about a possible transition in my life career-wise. Our older girls would be in school during the year, our four year old would be in preschool 3-5 days a week and childcare for our youngest wouldn't be too bad. It had been so many years since I've had options when it comes to my career due to raising kids. My husband's job was offering overtime which was perfect and would provide enough money for our family so I could prepare for a career transition. It was the perfect plan that we both felt good about.

Well, any other year this would have worked perfectly. I would be able to finally focus on my career goals and get back on track working on multiple streams of income. Ideally, after teaching dance every evening at this point I'd be working days and spending the evenings at home planning for our future and spending time with my family. Unfortunately, this is not any other year it's 2020. I imagine after this year 2020 will be used as an insult. "She's s 2020", "that was 2020" or "why do my kids have to be so 2020". Using 2020 will mean it's a complete mess and very unpredictable, lol. I mean honestly who could have seen any of this happening?

So here I am typing on my computer after I decided to start the blog and vlog that I had put on the back burner because I needed something good, something fresh this year. I am continuing to teach though my hours are drastically reduced to only five hours a week. My husband's job stopped offering overtime in the spring so we struggled along this summer using the money we had saved. The kids are home and due to scheduling along with the loss of hours at work my four year old is attending preschool two days a week. We had two vacations planned this year and had to cancel them due to covid. Honestly, even if everything went back to normal financially we couldn't swing it. This year put a huge strain on our finances and I was so stressed out. We were in such a great place in life. We could afford our bills, enjoy little luxuries, travel, we had planned on finishing most renovations on our house and we had extra money saved. Now I was stressing about our day to day needs.

One day after my devotional I was praying to God about all my worries and I heard as clear as day "you are focused on having more than enough instead of just enough." It was true I felt secure knowing we had more money than we needed, more food than we needed, and more everything than we needed. I was too focused on my earthly kingdom. I was reminded of Luke 12:13-21. As I read I realized how foolish I was to focus on filling my storehouses with tangible things that can be taken away with something as trivial as covid. Philippians 4 which is full of wisdom says in verse 19 " And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Taking just this section it may look like this is confirmation that God will provide more than enough but as you read the prior passages you see that God's provision provided for Paul through the Philippian church and this is an exhortation for us as believers to give more than hoarding for ourselves. I also underlined the word need in my head, he will meet my NEEDS not my want for more. Finally, I read Matthew 6:25-34 as I approached the end at verse 34 the words smacked me in the face "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

As I sat there I thought to myself you have been so focused on having more than enough that you have ignored God's promise to give you just enough. When I thought of having more than enough or too much I began thinking about cooking. It is a frustrating mess when I accidentally overfill a pan or bowl and it spills everywhere. When I thought about having just enough in this pan I thought about how this is the perfect amount. Not too much not too little it's just right. I was focused on the sloppy mess of too much than the perfect just enough amount God offers. To be honest the pandemic and 2020 have been a huge blessing to me personally. Now, I could have done without this but God has taught me so much through this season. I have learned to focus on the current day and praise God for his provision. I can't see the big picture anyway so it makes sense to let God handle this. Have your kids ever whined about wanting their ice cream cone filled with ice cream? They throw a tantrum when you give them one scoop because they want five. You don't feel bad because you know they will enjoy the one scoop way better than the yucky mess that will come from the five scoops. This is how God cares for us yet if you are like me you were blind to see it.

Today I am dependent upon God's provision and I'm thankful he gives us just enough for each day. There has been a beauty in this truth for me. I am not working as much and not making as much money but I'm home with my family more and I've been able to nurture these relationships. I can try homeschooling which has been a desire for years but I wasn't brave enough to pursue. I wasn't able to go forward with a new career path but I've started a blog and vlog that I'm doing with my family. The kids get so excited about our Youtube channel and their ideas for future videos. I have time to dream and pray about future endeavors. We couldn't take our beach and Disney trips but God has provided us opportunities to go on several road trips this year. When our pantry is running low I have rediscovered the joy of cooking and creating dishes from what we have. I'm less stressed because I'm taking one day and a moment at a time. When I was reading Matthew 6:27 I was reminded what a valuable asset time is and how we waste it more than money even though money is a renewable asset whereas time is not. I feel my time is better used focusing on just enough rather than more than enough. This has shifted my perspective.

So I offer this encouragement for others who are feeling 2020 has taken away the best from them. Maybe your best wasn't God's best. Maybe in this year of turmoil, God is trying to offer you just enough and it's time to shift your focus away from more than enough. Be blessed!