Day #4-Humbling
Sometimes life has a way of teaching us things in our darkest moments. Many times we take things and people for granted until we’ve lost them. When you’ve had material things/money and it’s gone, you then realize how important these things are not. When I say this, I don’t mean we don’t need these items, I just mean that if you didn’t die in the loss, you must realize that you are extremely blessed. I’ve gone through an extreme humbling. There was a time when everything that was important was slowly being stripped from me. The irony was that when I had everything material, everyone else thought that I was happy. The reality was that I wasn’t. When you have an abundance of material (stuff) and money people will sometimes attach themselves to you that could care less about you. You find yourself having to question why all of a sudden certain people want to be in your personal space. There’s a lesson in every blessing and mine was money and material gain cannot make you happy. Money can do a lot of things, but it can’t buy love, health, or joy. Money allows you to take care of business that you otherwise would not be able to take care of. You can shop until you’re sick. You can decorate your house, buy new cars, travel, buy a few friends, a companion and whatever else you want to possess, but if your heart is broken none of these things mean anything. The greatest loss is when someone you care about is stripped away from you. No amount of money can bring them back. You can’t bribe God with material things. When God calls your loved ones home, it’s forever. Some people feel powerful because they have money, but the reality is when God makes a decision, you realize just how much power you don’t have. When the humbling experience began, I paid attention to the people that were stripped from me along with the things. I had to learn that everybody that is close to you is not there for the right reason. This is when God gave me a sense of purpose not just a means of pleasure. I remember hearing a sermon many years ago and the question was, “If all of your material possessions were stripped from you, would you still be YOU? The beauty in this lesson is that God has a way of restoring everything that you lost and the bonus is He gives you a clean heart, and a humbled spirit. He purifies you from the inside out and ultimately gives you something else that money cannot buy, “PEACE”! I thank God for my humbling because it helped make me a better person and it gave me a deeper appreciation for who HE is and who I am becoming.