Last night was my daughter Raegan's Junior Prom. She had a great time at the actual dance but it left me sitting here wondering at what or who's expense??? I looked up at what the average student in Illinois spend on prom and found anywhere from $600 to $1000. I thought we actually were pretty thrifty with Raegan's. Thanks to God for in only a way He can....Raegan's original dress that was $150 didn't show up....so on the day of the prom we found one for $43! Thank you Jesus!!! She spent the same on her shoes but then you start adding up tanning sessions, nails, hair do's and you can see that it could get very high. Most dresses we looked at were about $300 - $500. Raegan chose to do her own hair, make up and nails. She couldn't have been more beautiful!
Then as I worked at the After Prom and witnessed students saying they were bored.....and even Raegan chose not to because her friends didn't want to go....I sat there and thought about all the man hours that went into planning the event and how much money was spent on prizes that some (not all) kids were grumbling about and several that left because they didn't think there prizes that added up to over $30 was worth hanging around to the end for. Where is the gratitude???
This just left me thinking so hard. I have asked Jesus so many times to break my heart for what breaks His! This is were I am struggling! How can I... as a mother... find a place in my heart to let my kids enjoy these events AND live in this world and in the same world where there is so much need and desperation just to survive??? I want to teach my children to put other peoples needs first and then I feel guilty when I deprive them???? REALLY???? What kind of person am I? Someone really needs to help me with this. I know we can rationalize that we deserve to have and do nice things....but I am so over that for me....but what about for my kids.
1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
How do we keep doing this???? Please help me here.....again....I'm struggling.
No offense at ALL. I struggle too! Sometimes when I feel guilty, I think back to what I remember about those times (proms, etc.) and if I really care about it now. And I don't. But I do remember the mission trip I went on. Perhaps if we (me too, thinking out loud here) channel our funds to giving our kids experiences that will break their heart for God, it will become easier to not lament the "lost experiences" of our culture which are quite shallow and meaningless.
ReplyDeleteI don't always believe in exchanging one experience for another (providing an alternative) but steering our kids in Christ's direction towards that narrow path seems right.
What do you think?
I struggle with frugal versus enjoying what God has given us. My hot button is amusement parks etc where we would drop hundreds of dollars on nothing but cheap thrills. My kids have never played the stall games at a fair. Guilt? Sometimes.
I struggle too!
Thank you Jennifer....well said! Fireworks are another trigger...haha! My sister pointed out once that we could end world hunger with what we spend on those! :)
DeleteI've continued to think about this. And think. And think some more. Somehow I also watched Francis Chan on Youtube to seal the deal. What about tithing? The amount we have tithed over the last 10 years could have easily paid for our daughter's college education. Yet she still managed to graduate debt free, working three jobs and counting every penny. Trust me, we live pretty close to the edge and God provided faithfully.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am going to ask myself the question, does each "experience" draw me or my kids closer to Christ? Can our sphere of influence include things like the prom? Probably. How many times have we been somewhere and realized that the whole thing was a setup to cross someone's path who needed us?
I am going to go think some more.
Bye.
Jennifer....awesome thought! I especially LOVE the sentence at the end, "How many times have we been somewhere and realized that the whole thing was a setup to cross someone's path who needed us". Because God prompted me to write this blog post...it gave many people "thought" of the situation and inspired great conversation! I am always in awe of how tricky God is! haha!!!!
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