Memories of Money by Jewels From The Word

My first memory of money is of giving at church. I remember when I was a little girl, after Sunday School, we had the Penny March. All the little kids marched single file, pushing, shoving, around the altar and dropped their few pennies into the collection plate. On our birthday, we always put in as many pennies as we were years old.

            We were too poor to get an allowance. Mother barely had enough to get by, but we had fresh vegetables from an enormous garden and homemade bread. We always had plenty to eat. Mother ironed clothes for other people for a living until we were in school, then she went to work for the school cafeteria and ironed in the evenings.

            I didn't even feel poor till junior high when I realized that other girls in school had nicer clothes, but it didn't bother me much because I went to work as a waitress when I was 15.

            I'll never forget the things I bought when I finally got that job. First I bought some cute shoes instead of the orthopedic shoes I had to wear. I bought shrimp and other meat we had never had before, Ship-N-Shore blouses for my younger sister and me, gifts for my nephews and niece.  I bought gas for the old 53 Chevy my uncle fixed up and let me drive. I was a little embarrassed by that old Chevy, (this was in 1965) but my pride in ownership soon overcame it. It sure beat walking.

             With the economy down, the stock market down, retail sales down, it is really easy to put too much importance on money.  Money is a means to an end, the means of getting the goods and services that you need.

            If money is short, it is time to go back to the beginning. Begin by giving to the Lord through your local church. Maybe this is the year you should plant a garden again. Find something you are good at (like my mother ironing and cooking) and do it for other people for money. Someone would probably pay for your home-cooked meals to serve their family on a busy school night. And cut back on all those extras that you have been buying that you don't really need, like expensive meats, clothes, and gifts. And be thankful for the car you have that is running and drive it a little longer.

            Put first things first. Put God first in your finances.