What do we really need?

In my last post, I talked about the things we need verses the things we want.  Here's alittle more of my thoughts on that.

As I sit and write this, my brain is whirling a hundred miles an hour.  What are my needs?  How do I learn the difference between what I think I need and what I truly need?  What about what I want?  Well, let's see if we can figure it out.

We, as human beings, have some basic needs.  We need food to make our bodies work.  Yes, food is a good thing.  I may not always have exactly what I want to eat all the time, like a nice, thick, juicy T-Bone steak with a loaded baked potatoe and a salad, but I have food to keep my body running.  The way God designed our bodies is amazing to me.  He knew exactly how much of each nutrient we would need, how much oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, etc that it would take to make our bodies function.  If one little thing is out of whack, it throws the rest of our body off track.  I have diabetes and my thyroid doesn't work right, so my body is so out of whack.  But, we must still feed it for it to be able to function.  We also need water to keep us hydrated.  You can go up to a month without eating and still be ok, but after 3 days of no water, your body will shut down.  It can't function.  Jesus says that if we come to Him, He will give us Living Water.  Water that is so much better than what we need to survive. 

We need shelter.  A home.  A roof over our heads.  That doesn't mean we must have a million dollar home.  I guess it would be nice to have a great big ol' house with lots of space, but think about all the dusting you would have to do.  :).  Our shelter, no matter what size, can be beautiful.  We must take care of the the shelter God gives us.  My house is old.  It needs alot of work, but God blessed us with this house.  We have no mortgage.  It's a blessing.

We need clothing.  Yes, not many people would want to see  me running around naked.  It might blind them.  But, I don't have to have clothes that cost as much as a car payment.  My jeans are old, but they fit and cover me up.  I still have shirts that I had before Kierstynne was born.  When I met Tim, I had 84 pair of shoes.  Now I have 4.  I don't need designer clothing.  I just NEED clothing to cover me up, keep me warm, and look nice.  God blessed me in this area too.  My aunt lost almost 100 pounds and gave me all of the stuff she couldn't wear anymore.  8 bags of clothes to be exact.  So, now I have nice things to wear to church and around the house.  I don't need to have thousand dollar shoes and a purse to match them.  God has given me what I need.

We need a car.  In today's world, you really can't get anywhere without one.  I would love to have a new 2012 Chevrolet Camaro.  Have you seen them?  They are beautiful.  I WANT one.  Do I NEED one?  Nope.  We have a Trailblazer that sometimes needs a little help but it gets us where we are going and back.  It gets me to the store to buy the food we need, it get's us to church for the Living Water, and it runs.  That's all we NEED from a car.   Sometimes, our cars frustrated us, like when mine sprung a leak, but God fixes that too.  He sent my cousin up here to fix it.  Would I like to have a beautiful, shiny, brand new, straight off the showroom floor Camaro.  You betcha.  Do I need it?  Nope.

We need jobs.  In order to survive in this economy, we need to work.  I have been blessed to be able to stay home and homeschool Kierstynne.  That is my job.  I am a mother, wife, housekeeper, taxi driver, laundry maid, cook, accountant, planner, and a repairman.  I have many jobs, but don't earn any money.  Tim works and works hard.  He brings in the money that we survive on.  Does he NEED his job?  Yes.  Does he have the job he really WANTS? No.  God has provided a good job with medical benefits and a decent hourly wage.  It could be better, but it could be alot worse.  God, in His Word, tells us we need to be good stewards with what we have.  If He can't trust us with a little, how can He trust us with alot?  I admit that I am not a very good steward.  Sometimes I let my wanting get me in trouble.  I have really been trying to do much better and slowly I am learning.  If Tim had the job he really wants, to be a Christian Artist, singing for God on the road, we wouldn't have much time with him.  He would be gone alot.  There would be more money coming in, but at what cost?  What would we have to give up in order to have more money?  God knows the plans He has for Tim and if it means singing, that's awesome.  If not, that's ok too. 

We need family and friends.  God never meant for us to be alone.  He devised marriage and family so that we wouldn't be alone.  God knew exactly what He was doing when He picked the family you would be born into.  We may not always like that family and sometimes even wonder why He picked it, but He sees the big picture where we only get a snapshot.  There was a rhyme and a reason for why God put you in the family you are in.  God also places our friends in our lives for a reason.  Some friends only stay for a season.  They teach us something.  Some friends stay around for years and years and become like family.  I have a couple of those kinds of friends and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  We NEED people to communicate with, to share our feelings with, to share our good times and our bad.  We need our family and friends to support and encourage us, to lift us up, to help guide us.  We may want to have a different family, or different friends, but we do need them.

So, I am slowly learning about the things we need.  I have realized that I NEED a relationship with Jesus.  I NEED to listen to His voice.  I NEED to read my Bible everyday.  I NEED a strong and consistant prayer life.  I NEED God's grace and mercy.  But, I also NEED to WANT these things.  These are wants that are profitable for me.  Wanting more money, a bigger house, nicer clothes, a shiny new car, and more stuff are not wants that are profitable for me.

Help me Lord to learn to WANT things that are going to help me in my walk with You.  Teach me about the things You want me to want.  Guide me, lead me, and show me the path You have laid out for me.  Thank You God.