Extravagance (book club: "Loving the Little Years;" part 3)

I admire my daughters.  Like most children, they hold nothing back. 

We have been making valentines all week for their friends.  And yesterday we were making Valentine's Day cards for their grandmothers.  After they had cut out the big pink hearts, I left out stickers for them to use and snuck off to the bathroom to get ready.  When I came back, they were stretching up their little arms and proudly putting the cards right in my face.  "See, Mommy, see."  "Oh, yes," I said.  "They're beautiful, girls, good job."

And they were.  Every square inch had hearts and a pink or red sticker that said things like: "I Love You," "XOXO," and "Love You Lots."

But I am ashamed to say, the first thing I thought was, "Did you use ALL the stickers?"  I had picked up a pack of stickers from the dollar bin at Target and thought we could use them for all the little cards they were going to make.  Because I had envisioned using ONE on each little valentine card.   You see, I think in terms of practicality and aesthetic simplicity.  Less is always more.  

But the girls think extravagantly and they love lavishly.  And more is always better. After all, these cards were for their grandmothers.

Having kids has challenged me to not be such a miser with my time, my possessions and my energy.  They live out loud, and although I need to teach them how to harness their energy, I don't want to teach them to live sparingly.  Because that is not what Jesus teaches us to do.  We are called to lay our lives down for another and what Christ did for us is the most extravagant type of love there is:


"For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:7-8

In the book, Loving the Little Years, by Rachel Jankovic, talks about this in her chapter titled, "Heavy Branches."  She says, "I think that in some ways we have let our cultural admiration for efficiency get into places that it doesn't belong."  She challenges the reader to bear fruit and not worry about the outcome.  

For me, this applies to crafting projects like sewing.  I have a hard time starting a project because I weigh out the practical uses of it.  If I don't think I'll actually use it or need it, I won't make it.  Just typing this makes me realize how ridiculous this is.  She says something beautiful about this very thinking:

"It is something I love about fruit-bearing tress and bushes - that God told them to make something, and they do it enthusiastically.  They don't care about what happens to the fruit. They do not measure their efforts or fuss when no one appreciates it (p. 31)."

Isn't that just like God?  To create something to enjoy.  And isn't that just like His creation -to worship the Creator (Luke 19:37-40)?  This challenges the notion of efficient living.  It goes to the very heart of efficiency run amuck, efficiency for efficiency's sake.  I want to live a life of abundance.  I want to bear fruit because that glorifies God.  I don't want to hoard my gifts and talents.  And I want my children to live extravagantly in praise of His name.  So I am going to use a whole pack of stickers on every card I make.  I am going to sew a pillow, even though I already have twenty.  And I am going to do it enthusiastically.

What do you want to do, but are afraid to start?  Do you want to cook a gourmet meal, but don't know where to begin?  Do you want to pick up that paintbrush even though you don't have the time?  Or what are you doing that you enjoy and what is it?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  

~cheryl~