Tim and I have been taking a CAP (Christians Against Poverty) personal finance course at his church, St. Paul's. The three week course couldn't have been more providentially timed, as I'm heading off to try to live off a limited income in Sicily--and then returning to the U.S. to live on a graduate school stipend/loan for...seven years. Eeek! Gone are my days of lackadaisical money management. But in the process of trying to balance out my income and expenditures, hemming and hawing about monthly allotments of grocery funds and knitting yarn expenses, debating with myself about the necessity of a car, and fretting that there is no way I'll be able to cover Christmas gifts with the $80 I had allowed...I remembered Matthew 6:26-28: "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. [...] And who by being worried can add a sing hour to this life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin."
Though I don't think this verse gets me out of wise budgeting, as much as I would like to escape a monetized system of living, it does remind me to put things in perspective--to realize that my greatest blessings are often given to me directly from God and don't cost me a dime. And those blessings that do cost me money (such as plane tickets to see Tim and his family here in England), are a means to a relational end.
Additionally, I learned this week that the better I am with my budget (and the less money I piddle away), the more money I will be able put aside for giving (for tithing, for gifts, for charity, etc) and the more money I can put towards ethical purchasing (organic food, fair trade items, etc). I am reminded that good stewardship of money in a theological sense is not about capital gains or fruitful monetary investments, but about the way your spending and saving reflects your impact on this planet and its communities. And I think that while living on a limited budget in grad school will take some time and effort, it will remind me to be constantly mindful about that impact and to reduce waste and unneeded consumption.
I couldn't find any lilies in England this time of year, but I did find some wonderful wild grasses (rosebay willow herb) on Crickley Hill on a walk with Tim. And a wonderful spider web (a creature that does, admittedly, toil and spin, for her supper).
Though I don't think this verse gets me out of wise budgeting, as much as I would like to escape a monetized system of living, it does remind me to put things in perspective--to realize that my greatest blessings are often given to me directly from God and don't cost me a dime. And those blessings that do cost me money (such as plane tickets to see Tim and his family here in England), are a means to a relational end.
Additionally, I learned this week that the better I am with my budget (and the less money I piddle away), the more money I will be able put aside for giving (for tithing, for gifts, for charity, etc) and the more money I can put towards ethical purchasing (organic food, fair trade items, etc). I am reminded that good stewardship of money in a theological sense is not about capital gains or fruitful monetary investments, but about the way your spending and saving reflects your impact on this planet and its communities. And I think that while living on a limited budget in grad school will take some time and effort, it will remind me to be constantly mindful about that impact and to reduce waste and unneeded consumption.
I couldn't find any lilies in England this time of year, but I did find some wonderful wild grasses (rosebay willow herb) on Crickley Hill on a walk with Tim. And a wonderful spider web (a creature that does, admittedly, toil and spin, for her supper).