How Do You Spend Yours?

Isaiah 55:1-9

Recently my wife and I have been talking about where our life is headed. She is close to retiring from a long and good career as a kindergarten teacher and I'm preparing for a new one. Will we be a one-income family, do we want to downsize our home, will we be a one-car family, and do we replace our aging pets are just a few of the questions we're discussing as we approach the time when the decisions of these questions need to be realized.

The more we discuss our options the clearer it becomes that every decision pivots on one main point; what our income will be when that time comes. In other words, what will we be able and willing to spend our monies on?

Last night, in one such conversation, we were talking about what kind of a car we might want to get. We both decided it would make more sense to get a car before we retire so that we don't have a car payment at the same time our income is limited. We also decided that a small, gas-efficient vehicle would make sense. Mortgage, food, and medication were a few things we decided would be better use of our income than a car payment and the monthly upkeep of that car.

Today's passage is a great reminder to place our priorities into what's really important. If the things we spend our time, talents, and treasures on do not benefit our relationships with one another or God, maybe we need to take a look at why we invest in them in the first place.

The relationship my wife and I are having is a good place for us to be. We're not in that place where the decisions we make have to be made, nor are we in a place where the decisions we make are going to be set in place for all time. What's good is that we're talking about it, and a good conversation about priorities for the now and future is a good thing to have.