Monetary Monday - Guilt

Perhaps you have made a huge financial mistake which has left your family fiscally hurt.  Perhaps there was an over sight that caused your bank account to be overdrawn.  Perhaps you were hurt financially by outside forces beyond your control.  If any one of these things happened and you are feeling guilt, then learn from it and move on.  I am here to talk to people who feel guilt cause they have a few screws loose.  I am an expert!

Do you wear shirts that are so faded you aren't sure it once had a logo or if its one of those pixel shirts?  Have you patched your pants so many times they looks like a quilt?  Do you wear trashy underwear as in underwear that is so holey it belongs in the trash?  If so than you are who I want to talk to.  If you can't remember the last time you bought your self something, I want to talk to you too.  And if you have ever had the thought "I will just wear my daughters hand me downs when she gets bigger."  Than yea, I want to talk to you too.

I have guilt when I buy myself something. I wore the same shoes for 7 years.  And I wear these shoes 90% of the year.  I wore them so much there was no pattern left to the soles, they were as smooth as a babys bottom.  And I wondered why I kept slipping.  I have underwear that is so holey I am embarrassed to have dh see me in them.  I have shirts so stained I have thought, 'You know they should just make shirts that look like they have stains already.  Then who would know?'  And yet I can not buy myself something without guilt.  Yes, there is something wrong with me.  But! I bought myself some new clothes.  Yup, I did.

We ran out of the house one day and didn't have time to stop to check the kids' face and clothes.  We had heard something was going on and raced out of the house.  We got to our destination and my 5 year old had food smeared all over his shirt.  No one had brushed their hair and several kids had food on their faces.  They looked like they had woke up in a dumpster.  Then I looked at myself.  Yea, not much better.  Well, at least we all matched!  My mother was there though and took ds to the bathroom to clean his shirt.  It was a hot day he could wear a wet shirt for awhile, probably was more comfortable than the rest of us.  We used some wipes to wash everyone up and I had a brush in the van.  At least we looked a little better.  But I made a decision to look nicer.  We aren't doing big families any favors when we look like that.  What a terrible example we set and a terrible first impression we give.  As a witness I think I was sorely lacking.

Now there are times that we just have to make do.  We pray that someone would give us the clothes we need or the Lord would provide us with the means to get what we need.  But this is different. This is guilt because we don't think we are worthy enough to be wearing nice clothes.  We think we are home all day anyway, who is gonna see us?  And its fine and dandy to have 'around the house' clothes, but it shouldn't be your only clothes! We don't need to dress like we have an office meeting everyday (unless you do), but something you as a parent wouldn't send your kids back to their room to change would be a start. 

So someone tell me to stop feeling guilty about the $9 nursing shirt I bought last night!