Good morning…
I love to browse, to meander, to lose track of time lingering. When I have opportune moments to whimsically waste, I like to stroll the aisles of a Goodwill store. There is no telling what second-hand treasures I might happen upon.
What fine find caught my attention last week? A crazily covered canvas hosting these black words painted in a child’s handwriting: “What I want is what I’ve not got, and what I need is all around me.” – DMB
Profound. Insightful. Convicting. Incessantly I want what I’ve not got. I want, I want, I want, but I’ve not got. Yet when I take unstructured time to settle with God’s Spirit into my soul, I begin to notice a deeper truth, “What I need is all around me.”
I took a picture of this childish piece of art and walked away empty-handed, but the saying took up residence in my mind. A few days later I went back to see if the rudimentary remnant was still sitting unclaimed on the shelf. To my delight, there she was. One dollar and ninety-nine cents later, I became the proud owner of an important reminder. Disappointment, dissatisfaction, distraction will grow in me when I focus on wanting what I’ve not got. Peace, patience, perspective will grow in me when I focus my soul on God’s timeless truth: “What I need is all around me.”
“The grateful heart is like a magnet sweeping over the day, collecting reasons for gratitude,” says the Max Lucado quote. God, please allow my unmet wants to draw me like a magnet down into You, You who is the Meeter of my every need. Together, let us sweep over each day, collecting random reasons for gratitude.
Empty out of my heart everything that is false— every lie, and every crooked thing. And give me neither undue poverty nor undue wealth— but rather, feed my soul with the measure of prosperity that pleases you (Proverbs 30:8, TPT).
…Sue…
P.S. Thanks to a few of you who researched this quote for us. The lyrics are from a Dave Matthews Band song (DMB – initials of the band’s name) entitled “Jimi Thing.”
P.S. Another one said, “I’m struck by the true value of what the world prices at a dollar and ninety-nine cents.” God’s ways are not the world’s ways. Never have been. Never will be. Thanks be to God.
