Worth the cost

I'll begin this time with a disclaimer. No, q-tips are not safe for use in your ear canal. Never, under any circumstance should you use anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. I am not advocating the improper use of q-tips with this blog.

Whew, now that I've done that, here's the story.

My husband and I have a modest family of five. Us and three beautiful daughters. We are currently living on a budget, on his income, so that I can devote all my time and attention to raising our girls. I don't always have the right attitude about my blessing, but that's for another post (and I seem to touch on it almost every time on here).

Because we are on a budget, there are times where we pay more for the brand name and times when we are content with the store brand. Recently, we ran out of q-tips.

I'm sure that using my towel to dry my ear canal after my shower would be safer and sufficient for my needs, but I enjoy taking that tiny wisp of wound cotton on a stick and gently twisting it in my ear to remove all the excess moisture.

Today, I used our new q-tips for the first time. Versus the alternative towel or air-dry method, this was okay, but there was something lacking. We did not buy the Q-tips made by Unilever, but simply the store brand "cotton swabs".

Though they looked similar, double-ended white stick wrapped with white cotton at both sides, the cost savings came at the amount of wrapped cotton. We may have saved money, but we gave up satisfaction and settled for something less.

It occurred to me that we do this with God, too. We are about to receive something or feel a leading, a pulling, a tugging to action, but we fear the cost. We settle for something safer, when what we could have had was amazing! Sometimes fear of rejection prevents us from reaching out to somebody that could have poured great life and friendship into our lonely lives.

http://www.pgavietnam.com/new%20images/Robert_-_kiddie_ride.jpg

We go on the kiddie ride when the view atop the great Ferris Wheel would have been far more rewarding (and not as dangerous as we feared). Our experiences shape us into the Christians God wants us to be. How much can we accomplish if we simply yield to His direction and His shaping?

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/ferris-wheel-34980.jpg

We fail to act, crippled by the thought that it might require sacrifice or perhaps giving up something we enjoy but don't need. This can be financial, a time commitment, perhaps even something we see as good. If we are placing what we think is important ahead of what God deems important, then we stand on the throne in our hearts. Our fear/pride can and will cause us to fall if we don't get down from our high places.

Our pastor periodically reminds us that for every $8 given to missions, another person gives their life to Christ and joins us in our eternal family. $8 a month would change 12 people a year. Certainly we could afford that kind of change?

So, as we consider how best to spend our resources, be it time, money, energy, and we see what God is asking us to do, the question presents itself:

Is it worth the cost?

Sometimes, only God knows, but He knows best.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep using up these inferior q-tips for approved purposes so we can spend a little more on the next box. :)

~Tammy