My husband and I recently inspired by Thomas Dubay’s “Happy Are You Poor: The Simple Life and Finding Spiritual Life” decided to downsize our home by buying a much smaller condo. Things are a little tight as we ready our house for the market and we finance the other home.
I don’t know about you, but when things are tight the temptation to decrease donations is always present. Last week I was so tempted to not put that check in the church basket. But the thought crossed my mind: “You cannot be more generous than God.” My fear was that there wouldn’t be enough to cover our bills. But going on faith in what we pray every single morning in the Divine Office, I decided to trust that God would indeed provide.
So yesterday when I went to my mail box I noticed an envelope that looked like there was money inside. When opened it was a surprise $1,000 check, with the “we are so sorry we didn’t send this money to you earlier” note. The money was for some service my husband had done awhile back. We hadn’t realized there was money involved. The job was done months ago and the check was indeed late. But just in time according to God’s Divine Plan.
RCM,
Let me be the first to say that I think you’re doing a great thing. My goal as well is to get rid of tons of junk I don’t need anymore, to have as few things as possible.
People might have an idea of downsizing or asceticism as ‘hard’. I find that when I give things away, I have fewer things to worry about. Things become easier, not harder. You feel more free, not less.
RCM,
A beautiful testimony. Thank you for sharing this.
My wife and I went from living a rather juvenile lifestyle where we both worked, and I got my stipend from grad school, plus consulting and music. Needless to say, I was on the brink of a nervous breakdown and our “happy,” big income life was a drag. Now, we’ve been in Columbus for a few years living in a one-bedroom apartment and surviving off my fellowship and TA stipend, which isn’t much, but we are happy and have seen our life transformed into a real, vital (not to mention sane) one. We have a long way to go, but sharing these things helps so much. Great post!
RCM, I am new to blogging but I have enjoyed reading the posts I find here as opposed to what I have seen at other catholic sites. I left the faith when I was 18 and returned 4 years ago when I was 58. I was married at age 28 and we had our first of two children, a daughter, when I was 32 and our son when I was 38. We moved from Pittsburgh, to Penn State, to Washington state, to Stubenville, to Florida, to Detroit and in ’86 returned to Washington state and have lived here since.
Through all these moves and years I have always experienced a sense of internal peace that whatever created me would somehow care for me and my family if I would just continue to do the best I could in spite of the neurosis and job rejections I would encounter once my neurosis would pop up in interviews.
As I look back I now see that Christ never left me due to the sacraments that once received never stopped working in me. My greatest gift is my spouse who has been with me for 34 years and without her I am not the man I am today. I would not have returned to our faith without her praying for me for 7 years after she returned.
She found the home that we decided to buy in 1988 and our budget was very tight. We now own our home as of 2 years ago. I read a book back in the early ’70′s entitled Small Is Beautiful which described a Buddhist economic system based on the mindful respect for the world and all life that inhabits the world. Our purchases now seem to be spent mostly on running gear. The greatest joy of my week is to run with my wife and her telling me stories about her work week. She is a great story-teller.
Small is beautiful and it feels great that we have been able to help our children with undergrad expenses and have been able to send monthly support to our mothers. I love the small home that God has given us. I do not know why I was given so much when others seem to have nothing. What I do know is that I want to give whatever I can whenever I have the opportunity.
It appears that living small provides more. That also seems to be a part of the natural law.
God Bless You.
When I was in my early teens, the pastor at our parish launched a campaign to get people to tithe (5% to the church, 5% to charity). We heard, from the pulpit, many stories along the lines of the following: “Father, we had needed to replace our old furnace at great cost, but since we started tithing, it has been working perfectly, and we have been spared the expense.”
But does God work that way? And if so, why in these relatively small things, when 16,000 children die every day of hunger-related causes. It seems to me when the unexpected check comes in the mail and it’s attributed to God’s Divine Plan, it logically should set other people who suffer tragedy and misfortune to wonder why God isn’t providing for them in their time of need.
Can anybody tell me if there is a consensus in contemporary theology about the way God works in the world? Does he fix the furnaces of people who tithe?
Also, my understanding of “Happy (or blessed) are the poor” is not that poverty brings happiness. In the saying “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied,” Jesus was not saying that hunger and thirst for righteousness was in itself a cause of happiness, but that conditions were about to be alleviated, and those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness would be satisfied. Similarly, poverty was not in itself a cause for happiness, but rather the poor could be happy because soon their poverty would be a thing of the past.
I remember a song called I’m a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patchfrom when I was a kid. I am afraid I am here being an onion in a petunia patch, for which I apologize. (Although I love onions!)
Good stuff. My big family has often been tempted in the same way. I just thank God that he lets me have 90%.
Hello Radical Catholic Mom! I have been reading your blog for some time but have been too shy to post, and I have even read “Happy Are You Poor” because of you. I am looking forward to reading about your transition to a smaller space.
Would it be possible for me to be allowed on to your closed blog? My address is j.shanley@cox.net