I Abdicate Responsibility for Others' Lives

I was feeling frustrated yesterday evening. I got home from work, talking under my breath about my husband who wants to start a new business but isn't doing the work to move forward. My son who says he wants to join the military but isn't studying for the ASVAB like the recruiter said to do. I was feeling so much responsiblity to push them, to make them move, make them take a step forward. After all, I'm their support system, right? Isn't that my job as a wife and a mother?

Suddenly I found myself in the middle of the kitchen, supper simmering on the stove behind me, and I yelled out - I give up all responsiblity for others' lives! Do you hear me? I abdicate all responsibility. It's up to them to do the work, it's up to them to live their lives and make their choices. There's nothing I can help them with at this point. They have to take the next step themselves and I abdicate responsiblity!

I felt so much better after this outburst. I have no idea where it came from or what led me to do it. I just knew it felt right and I finished making supper and spent the rest of my evening working on MY work instead of trying to do their work.

Who are you trying to "make" move in a certain direction? Let it go, abdicate responsibility, let them work it out, and go about your day.

Abundance Surrounds Us

I've been reading a book called The Wealth Diet by Kathy Zant, and going through the exercises. I've also been reading a book about simple living, and going through those exercises. You wouldn't think these two books would have anything in common, but the exercises are similar in each book. I'm thinking about simplicity and abundance in so many different ways, and it hit me the other day how abundance surrounds us.

When we think about abundance, we typically think money. We need more money, we want more money. But abundance is in everything - our home, our family, our joys, our passions. We can be abundant in talent and gifts, happiness and joy.

I had read a section in The Wealth Diet where Kathy mentioned people walking over money found in the street. How many times have you done that? How many times have you passed over a quarter or a dime or even a penny? I found $10 once at a park in the parking lot. We found money on the sidewalk at the mall. On this particular day, I needed a dime so I could have enough money for the vending machine. I started digging through my purse and found three dimes. The next day my husband had mentioned we needed a new mop head. That night, he told me he'd gotten three at work. They were being tossed out during a renovation of the store where he works. And it hit me - this is abundance.

Abundance is God providing all we need and more. I needed a dime - he provided three. We needed a mop head - he provided three. My husband also received a wall locker that he's using to store books and games in in our family room. This is abundance, and if we keep our eyes open we can see it surrounding us.

How have you experienced abundance in your life, no matter how small it may seem?