The Adventures of an Ex-Shopaholic

Let me begin with a confession.

For most of my life as a "working adult" (including many teenage years) I pretty much spent every cent out of every paycheck, and then some. I was a hard-core Shopaholic.

God (and my parents!) got a hold of me, and in the last few years I've been learning simple and painful lessons in finances - the foremost of which, that God is as much a part of your monetary life as any other, perhaps more - think of how many passages of scripture speak on the topic of money! It was a blind spot in my life, and I am grateful that God, in His mercy, did not leave me to rack up amazing amounts of debt and to wallow in my own black self-centeredness. He taught painful lessons on seeing shopping for what it was: a cure for loneliness, a search for earthly thrill or happiness, a way to pass time (unproductively), in short - an idol in trade for God Almighty. I had been building my kingdom with Target, Kohl's, and any other brick I could find that wasn't labeled For God's Kingdom. And I repented.

Then came the season of dealing with the consequences of those years of spendthrift. Those were painful lessons, too. You know how brides in the old days came with a dowry? Well, I came with several bins of cotton and calico, but my husband paid a bride price for me. And he did it so willingly and gallantly - himself a thrifty and careful person! - and that was the very worst burden of consequence that God so graciously put upon me. It has been a very good and present reminder for me to be thrifty with the money God and my husband entrusts to me, and to serve my husband diligently in the area of finances!

Now I come to my adventure yesterday. I went SHOPPING!!! But, lest you be very confused and wonder why on earth I explained just now my history with shopping and finances: I've been saving for a month for this excursion! I prepared my lists, made my plan, allotted myself a particular sum (that would not be surpassed), and eagerly awaited the appointed day! And I prayed before I went: that I would honor and serve my husband in my purchases, that the Lord would bless my day and guide my hands (especially for the thrift store shopping!), and for travel mercies. And guess what?? God provided over and abounding! It was one of the best days of shopping I've had, ever - and all the better because I spent cash-in-hand and stayed within my budget. So many blessings, in no particular order:

1. It started rainy and cold, but it brightened up and got warm as I reached Raleigh.

2. It was a sweet and unhurried time alone, just me and God, and so very different from days shopping as an ineffective balm for loneliness. Lots of thinking, praying, and simply enjoying the process of searching for the things that I needed. Of course there were several welcome distractions (mostly from BJ) - "Hey, can you get ... ?"

3. I found everything I had on my list to "buy if at all possible" with the exception of molasses. :P

a. At the thrift store I found: 3 cotton maternity tops (the store had beau coup maternity clothes - I've never seen that many in a thrift store, and I've been looking!), a garden hose keeper, a file organizer, a picture frame, a small enamel bowl (not necessary, but I've been wanting an old-fashioned enamel bowl!) and a car organizer specifically designed for law enforcement (!!!)

b. At Target: things that have been on my "to buy" list for months and I wasn't bold enough to go out and buy them (nor did I really have the funds for them) - a 3-hole punch, printer paper, another set of my flatware (el-cheapo, but still...), and various other sundry items that were needed.

c. At Kohl's: on-sale maternity top, super-on-sale maternity jeans (YES!!!), and a pair of good walking shoes (at Paula's insistence) that were on-sale - I had a 30%-off-everything coupon and I walked away feeling like (an elated!) bandit for the price I paid for all that high-quality froufrouah. *happydances*

d. At Sam's Club, I had a successful time of what I call "household management:" looking for better-in-bulk deals vs. "What do I have room for?" It's all about balance. (I LOVE this part of being a wife - managing my domain at home!) I found several things to purchase, waited to get others at Wal-Mart, and found that my husband's razor-head replacements are far cheaper at Sam's Club, but that I need to save up the $39 to get the 16-pack. (Dude! A pack of 4 is $14 at Walmart, and way worse at the grocery store! I can save $12-18 per year buying razor-heads in bulk!)

e. At Lowes Home Improvement I looked at sinks and faucets, pricing and looking for any clearance, but that particular home project will have to wait. You could say that I went out yesterday and bought "everything but the kitchen sink." ;) I also looked at under-the-counter non-recessed mini potlights so the I can actually see the food I'm cooking at the stove after dark, but I don't have the right kind of cabinets (who finishes the bottom of a cabinet with leftover paneling??) to be able to accomplish it. And I wasn't willing to buy the battery-powered ones. I think I'll just leave the lack of lighting as a quirk of the house and a way to always be surprising my husband with dinner. He does love new and different! :D

5. Speaking of dinner - I was later than I had planned to be in coming home, due to grocery shopping taking longer than I wished (Grocery shopping is still so difficult for me! I mean, I love doing it and planning for it - but I can't do it well when hurried, and sometimes not even unhurried. Even after helping Mom for all those years and doing it by myself all these years, I still miss things going down the aisle. Often. And I usually don't remember until two more aisles down. I sometimes wonder if the grocery clerks think I just happen to like zigzagging for my food. I do plan! I even created a custom list with everything in groups of where it should be found and I still miss stuff. C'est la vie.) And I was also traveling on Capital Blvd and it was Friday afternoon... Husband, though he had worked the whole day himself, cooked up a tasty dinner of fried chicken quarters, rice, and cheesy broccoli. Yeah. My man. He's wonderful.

Anyways. That was my day. God is good.

P.S. By God's grace I stayed within my budget. There must have been a great deal of His favor, too, for I didn't know whether my sum would cover all that I wanted to purchase. I knew I would have to stop if I reached the limit. However, I got everything but that molasses, and didn't overspend! God is good to me.