By Margot Starbuck
My
husband gives me the evil eye as I drink in a large gulp of store-brand
orange juice. If there is an unwritten list of cardinal sins in our
household-which I’m discovering there apparently is-drinking a large
glass of orange juice, without being at death’s door from a vitamin C
deficiency, is on it. Growing up as the youngest in his family, he was
often shortchanged by thirsty older brothers. So, today, while he’s
willing to overlook any household member sipping at a tiny glass of
morning juice, a large glass at 4pm can still make him a little nutty.
Both inside and outside of the kitchen, a lot of us-like my
groom-operate out of a mentality of scarcity, rather than abundance.
Many of us even do it in our relationships with other women.
This
is the only way I can explain how I felt when I recently saw that a
popular clever female Christian blogger-like I’d be if I was popular and
clever and paid any attention to my blog-had a single post which had
been shared to facebook “282K” times. (Who knew that “K” was a thing
that facebook’s share widget could even do?!) After doing the
calculation-over ¼ million if you’re math-challenged-I started to feel a
little panicky, like a failure, and quickly tried to find fault with
aforementioned blogger. I wasn’t able to, but I certainly tried.
Mentality of scarcity.
No
matter how you spend your days-whether you blog or craft, teach or
sell, build or minister-it is tempting to be drawn into this devilish
way of thinking. When you learn that a group of women friends had a
girls’ night at the movies without inviting you, a mentality of scarcity
can put you in a bad green-eyed place. With a mentality of abundance,
though, you realize, “That sounds like fun. I wonder who else would like
to do a girls’ night as much as I do? I’ll text them right now.”
To
approach the world with an economy of abundance-one which trusts in a
faithful Provider-is to be set free to be for other women. Specifically,
we’re liberated as we act on that confidence: becoming share # 282,001
on the hot blog, buying something from the local Etsy crafter we admire,
or sending a quick note of appreciation to the wildly patient supermom
who has the nerve to look great in a bikini five months after the birth
of baby #5.
Though
it is an admittedly unlikely way, try living with a mentality of
abundance when it comes to the women around you. . This week, live free.
Margot Starbuck
is a communicator who is itchy to live out the kingdom Jesus ushered
in. She’s planted in Durham, North Carolina with her husband Peter,
their three children, and a faith community she cherishes. Visit her at
www.margotstarbuck.com.
WOW! Was that message ever timely! Just minutes after an argument with my husband over the way he just told me to get something done in front of the employees. Basically, it meant, you do this because everyone else is going to do pay work. That is a form of scarcity and it can make the emotions blow up (and it did). Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMargot, I so resonate with this! It's a constant struggle. I like to remind myself, when caught in this mentality of scarcity, that there's room at the "top" for everyone to be functioning at their best—whatever that may be.
ReplyDeleteLove this message. Thank you so much for sharing and encouraging!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Thank you , Thank you!!!! Abundance NOT scarcity...You may not have hit the 1/4 million mark but God used you to deliver a direct hit to my heart. Thank you for being obedient. :) Jimmie A. Getter, Rockford Il.
ReplyDeleteMargot...your post is a breath of fresh air! Thanks for your wisdom. We can't measure ourselves by "shares" or "hits" (or pounds or salaries or square footage or anything else!) We are daughters of the King, who loves us beyond any human measure.
ReplyDelete