The Most Important Investments.

 The Most Important Investments.

 

First, let me say that money has never been one of the things that the old woman finds it easy to save, much less invest in interest bearing returns. So, my grandson who has more money sense than the average adult would probably be somewhat disappointed in his grandmother. Sorry, Love. Ma just isn’t wired that way.

 

Second, let me remind you that in this life, most of us can be happy if we have an abundance of what we call ‘work ethic.’ To me, that means getting up off my backside and getting done the things that have to be done and then looking around at the things that could be done to improve a situation and finding a way to get those done as well. Not exactly including mopping the floors in that equation. That mopping bit has physical returns that include some major aches at this stage of life. One suggestion from the children has included hiring Maria H. to come once a month to clean the house from top to bottom. Frankly, with Texas winds, that wouldn’t get it.

 

Third, most people think of time as investment. And time is always a major portion of what we have to give to tasks, to others, to life itself in order to give true value to what we want out of life. And in that respect, time is one of the important elements in what we can invest, but it has to include this list: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. We have it on the best authority that these elements can’t be taxed, reduced, removed, or erased in any way.

 

Let’s take the list and see what we can do to make wise investments.

Love: The kind that cares and gives of hope, prayer, encouragement, and even sustenance denotes the type of love needed that will last.

Joy: Can we include that feeling of seeing the seasons change, the happiness that we feel seeing a grandchild run to you with its arms up to be hugged? Even the joy of watching one’s critters wag their tails or throw their heads in the air looking back over a shoulder to watch your approach—or being approached by any number of feathered bodies to see if your have been thinking of them when bringing food. Ah, joy can’t be defined so easily when the smiles and laughter brought forth can happen so frequently in life.

Peace: The quiet calm that accepts the snowflakes, the storms, the intense heat, the frozen winds, or the changes around us are just a part of how life continues. Life and death included in what will be our part have to be accepted with peace.

Longsuffering: Acceptance of how our bodies will age, will ache, will lose its abilities to react to life—those are the basics of longsuffering. But some are much more easily dealt with than the ones when living with others, caring for the elderly, caring for family, and just trying to be patient with ourselves and others. The saying that ‘this, too, shall pass’ might be part of longsuffering.

Gentleness: Children and animals are not the only ones who need for us to be gentle. Allowing others to have their quirks, to have their needs, to be upsetting to our own ways—we have to be gentle in how we handle the feelings of others. Not that we have to let others run over us, but to quietly refuse to have our buttons pushed is much better than allowing anger to come into play.

Goodness: How can a person define goodness? Maybe it is part and parcel of kindness. Being thoughtful of others means showing mercy and compassion. Those have to be elements of goodness.

Faith: When nothing else seems possible, we have to have faith in the complete love that God has given us through His son. No answer will ever satisfy our soul’s questions unless we realize that God cannot lie. He said that we are His children. So, we can ask in His son’s name.

Meekness: Oh, this is a hard one if we are opinionated and independent. We have to realize that by ourselves, we are nothing and unable to do any thing without His help. Again, we have to ask.

Temperance: Uh oh. We have to watch not only what we put in our mouth but what comes out of it. Barnyard language, temper tantrums, belittling others or their faults—these things need to cease and be recognized for what they are—rebellion against what He has given us. And this includes expressing our disgust with those who God allows to be in places of authority no matter how little we think of them. We need to let what comes out of our mouth be a positive form of encouragement to those around us.

 

No one is ever going to be perfect in using all of these investments, but as we become more aware of them, perhaps we will practice them on a daily basis to improve our funds of character.

 

May God bless His people, and may He give us peace beyond what we are able to see in this world.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.