Its Not What You Have

September 21, 2013

A couple of days ago, my adventure included driving up to the North Shore Women’s Connection in Kenmore, WA.

An incredible thing happened, I did NOT get lost or make a wrong turn and have to figure out how to get back on the road I was on, and I did not miss any signs! I thought I was lost for just a very short time after I asked someone at the gas station if they knew where the Golf course was. He told me to go in another direction than I was headed.

Well, since I had the directions on my phone, and my husband had written out the directions on a piece of paper, I decided to take my chances and stay on the route that I was on.

We pulled up to a beautiful country club with gargantuan plants, beautifully set around the club house and the turn around. My favorite, red geraniums were everywhere and looked like bushes.

I wanted to talk to the gardener and find out some of his tricks.

On my way home, I thought of the beautiful flowers and how perfectly they were placed around the property. A person can only be delighted with the beautiful picture that comes before their eyes as they approach the building.

It brought to mind a Bible verse I read the night before from my daughter’s devotional. “A person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful…” 1 Corinthians 4:2 NLT

The gardener of the Club house was faithful with what he was called to manage which caused a beautiful sight for all to see.

When I was younger and needed a new car, my Dad brought home an old Dodge Polara car that a man had owned and taken really good care of. We jokingly called it the boat. Many, many people could fit in my car. Wearing seat belts and having car seats was not enforced like it is now, when I had that car.

A few nights after my Dad brought the car home, I was washing the car out in the driveway, when my Dad came out to talk to me. I remember one thing he said in that conversation, “It’s not what you have. Its how you take care of what you have.”

I made sure that car was always clean and shiny. I worked at an auto store and many people would come in interested in my car. My friend’s fiancé was always asking to buy it and eventually did buy it from me.

Those words my dad said that night have stuck with me. When I move into a place, I set it up as cozy as I can, to make it feel homey.

Right now, I would love to move to another place, but that doesn’t appear to be in the near future, so we plant pretty flowers, clean around the sidewalk, (It helps we have a landscaper do the mowing and weeding). We’ve decorated the inside to our liking, so when we come home at the end of the day, it’s to a cozy place.

I’ve driven new cars, I’ve driven old cars, and I make sure to keep them nice looking.

Those words resonate in the back of my mind wherever I am. It helps me to be more content, about things, when they aren’t quite the way that I want them to be.

So what are the things you are responsible to manage today? A job that isn’t quite what you wanted, a relationship that’s a bit sour…it doesn’t matter what it is…

Like the gardener, being faithful to what you are called to manage can be a blessing not only to yourself as a job well done, but a blessing to others.