Matthew 6:25-26
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

What is enough? What is really needed? What must you have to live on, and what is a lovely extra? That’s what I’ve been pondering as I sit and watch the snow come down in large, fat flakes.

After a two year snow drought, we have had two small snow storms push through this week. When it’s all said and done, there will be about 6” between the two storms. The Washington, DC area doesn’t cope well with any amount of snow, and 2 storms in a row appears to have blown our collective minds. (I know! Our New England family members are laughing at us!)

I’m enjoying my morning coffee observing this idyllic scene. Earlier, I stepped out briefly and refilled the bird feeders, scattering some extra seed in sheltered areas so that the birds had more available food. They have been busy, eating and then finding shelter. The wrens fly into spaces in the lattice by the patio. The bluebirds and finches are nestled deep in a holly bush. The cardinals and blue jays appear to be finding shelter in the boughs of the giant fir tree. And squirrels put on their fluffy overcoats and hunker down on branches next to the oak tree’s trunk. They are well-fed, not just by me, but by the bounty in our yard.

You would think with all of these examples of diligence and trust, of finding and feeding, that the gimme gimme mentality of us humans would be quickly discarded to follow their example. But we humans, with our higher evolved mentality, appear to be addicted to MORE. We don’t seem to know what is ENOUGH. It’s a family trait that I can trace back generations.

In our collective memories, there are stories of helping my grandparents clean out their homes before moving into retirement apartments. Some of the items they saved were shared among the grandchildren and cousins who were close to moving into apartments, or to put in hope chests. Hand-embroidered linens, cast iron pots and pans, and tools from the shed all went to new homes. Pieces of furniture that have a genealogy were specially gifted.

But there were moments of hilarity as we found stuff that… nobody wanted. The most memorable was a small shoebox labeled “Pieces Of String Too Small To Use.”

Yes. That little shoebox held exactly what you thought it did. Inside were small pieces of string that had been tied around meat packages from the butcher. Carefully unknotted and rolled into mini-hanks, my grandmother saved them for some auspicious occasion yet to be manifested. She was a Depression era mother and a wartime housewife. You didn’t just throw things away. And you also didn’t buy new when you could re-use. She lived the Depression era mantra:
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

In a society of so much plenty, of so many extras… in a mindset of “I want it, I’ll buy it on credit,” the patterns of excess come back to haunt you. I am learning this all too well. Right now I am going through cupboards and bookcases, weeding out furniture and other household items I don’t need. A few weeks ago, I hauled a MASSIVE pile of boxes and bags for donation outside the garage. Last week, I culled out several bottles of spices (unopened) that were duplicates of what I already had in my spice drawer and shared them with neighbors.

Learning what is enough does not come easily. We fight. We compete. We position ourselves to be noticed, to get promoted, to buy the BEST of whatever (cars, video games, phones, computers.) We break our budgets and get into financial dependency with our credit cards. We are not addicted to having enough. We are addicted to MORE. Our anxiety feeds our buying habits.

Yes, as things wear out, it makes sense to replace them. No one gets very far in a car on 3 tires after all. So often, though, I catch myself thinking that I want that new fancy phone when my old one still works. Or I make a grocery run and forget that I have enough cans of chili beans and didn’t need more.

But if my default setting is ENOUGH then I am wiser in what I choose to buy and do. I can just BE. I can let keepsakes go and hold onto the memories that came with them. I can release my daughters from taking everything from their childhood bedrooms (though requiring them to do the work of clearing out!) I’m not as anxious, seeking the newest thing. I don’t need 20 pairs of shoes. (I probably don’t need 10 pairs!)

As the snow continues to pile up, I’m getting ready to sort out another cabinet. I’m attempting to live with a mindset of ENOUGH. With a heart of gratefulness. And with a settled heart that has Divine reassurance that my needs and most of my wants are all met, far beyond what I could ask or think.

Matthew 5:31, 33-34
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.