Spendthrift

The other day, a dear friend of mine made a comment that stuck with me. She said something about going to a certain store to buy the paper products she and her husband like. She said that life is too short to do without some of the little things that they enjoy.

How many times have I passed up buying one brand of paper towel in favor of another simply because it was cheaper? But, I think that’s a thing of the past. In the grand scheme of things, splurging on small luxuries is not going to break the bank! If I like a certain cookie but a look-alike is a dollar cheaper, why not treat treat myself to that more expensive brand? I am reminded what the Lord said about an entirely different subject but it kind of applies here: we “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.”

Now, I’m not advocating throwing caution to the wind and going hog-wild with my money. Not at all. I do believe in frugality. I believe in saving and spending wisely. I guess it all depends on how each of us considers that word “wisely”.

We may have varying amounts of income but we all have the same amount of time. My money is not nearly as important as my time. The way I spend it affects myself and others.  It may even affect eternity. Of all the ways time can be spent, the most important way is to lavish it on the people and pursuits I love. I am reminded of a song by Jim Croce, “Time In a Bottle”. The words are about wanting to save time, then re-live it with the one he loved.

Saturday, at the writers’ conference, my table was in the back of the room. This had two advantages: it was close to the kitchen and coffee and I could survey the whole audience, at least, the backs of their heads. Many, maybe the largest percent of those heads were gray! They were people who were not kids any more but were probably near my age, give or take a couple of decades. For us, time doesn’t stretch on for forty or fifty more years. Far more time is behind us than ahead of us. But there we were, lavishly spending those Saturday hours on something we love–writing! 

Tomorrow, my blog will be dedicated to the Authors’ Blog Chain. I’m going to highlight several ladies who are pursuing a dream, spending their time on a career in writing. They are frugal with words but lavish in pursuing a dream.

Blanche’s cozy mysteries