True Freedom & Enjoyment

Right now, Gweg and I are in the midst of building, and buying, our first home. It's very exciting and very easy to make little decisions into large ones.

When we first realized we wanted to build our home, we only had two choices (to fit the requirement of staying in our ward). One, at the time, seemed like the house of our dreams. It had everything we needed and wanted---there was one problem---it was a little above our price range. We thought we could handle it because it was what we wanted. Our second choice, seemed like the lesser of the two. It had more of what we needed for our family now and not what we thought we would want 5, 10, 15 years down the road---plus it was within our budget.

In our story, we chose number 2. I know the Lord was with us in this choice. Many of things we worried about in the beginning have already resolved themselves. This was the choice we were supposed to make, and I can't help wonder what would have happened if we chose the first option.

It's no wonder that so many people are struggling in the economy right now because of the real estate and monetary decisions they made. A lot of people make finanical decisions based on what the world tells them they need and forget to think about what their family actually needs; we covet way more than we should. In April, Elder Robert D. Hales said:

“Being provident providers, we must keep that most basic commandment, ‘Thou shalt not covet’ (Exodus 20:17). Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford—and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts.”

“Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually,” Ensign, May 2009, 8

What hit me the most about this quote is that when we go into unnecessary debt, we are giving away part of our free agency. The only thing we have that is truly ours to give and we auction it off to the highest bidder. True freedom and enjoyment does not come from trying to keep up with our neighbors or fellow ward members; it comes from making the best with what the Lord has given us---and this will be all we need to provide for our family's true happiness.