I have a confession. A terrible one, actually. I have a tendency to be materialistic. The "keeping up with the Jones" mentality always creeps up on me when I least expect it. Don't get me wrong. I'm not so terrible that I love things more than people. You can bet your bottom dollar that if it came down to my family and friends or my things, I would choose people every time. However, my nature can be a bit competitive. If I am in a competition that I care about, I want to win. I don't care if I win the dodge ball game or a race. Those aren't things that matter to me. Now if the competition were to involve baking or Disney trivia, I'm all over it. Somehow I tend to place myself in competition when it comes to possessions. I want the best ring, wedding, car, house, decorations, and so on. My heart is sinking a little bit as I try to imagine how terrible I sound right now. I can't help it! I like pretty things.
This evening my husband and I had some time to kill. We decided to drive through some neighborhoods we saw as a potential dwelling place in our near future (3-5 years). We found ourselves looking at homes that were triple the price of our current cozy abode. I was immediately smitten by their glam and the prospect of soon owning one. They were stunning.
Later I began my nightly routine of browsing the web. Of course as I searched my news sites for the latest and greatest gossip, my screen was mostly cluttered with Syria talk. I hadn't done much research on the events that have transpired over the past few weeks, but I had definitely formed opinions. I have been criticizing our government for being foolish enough to even consider the thought of starting another war. How dare they!?! Didn't they see what happened in Iraq? My browsing session led me to several articles, one of which contained a photo album. Curious, I decided to check it out. It was way more than I expected to see. Dead bodies of men, women, and children laid peacefully asleep across my computer screen. These pictures made my stomach turn. I began to wonder what it was like to have your own government turn on you and instill such fear. For once in the past 48 hours I might have understood why we could consider a strike on Syria. Don't get me wrong, I am still not condoning this action, but I get it. Suddenly all these pictures of beautiful homes and things seemed so irrelevant to the moment I was living. I am writing this blog extremely humbled. Tomorrow I will probably wake-up with an urge to go to TJ Maxx. I just hope that I can remind myself that things are nothing and people are everything. My heart is broken. I pray that our officials can make an educated and responsible decision as the lead our nation.
