I painfully admit that I am seriously attached the stuff in my life. I can’t imagine losing it all. I don’t know why it is so hard for me to part with material objects. My soul wants to be the widow in today’s Scripture (Luke 21:1-4) who is willing to offer her whole livelihood, but my mind justifies holding onto the stuff.

A few years ago a friend of mine suffered a house fire. They lost everything. It was your classic lights-on-the-Christmas-tree horrific event. The family was safe, but they lost all their material possessions and had to rely on friends and family for food, shelter, and clothing. The process of rebuilding took years.

When I visited shortly after the event, she said with a smile that she was learning much from the Lord during this time of need. For most of her life, she had worked in ministry serving others, and this was a season when she was forced to receive. It was humbling and gave her a different awareness of those who find themselves in need.

We are entering into the season of Advent next week. I pray that this Advent we can cultivate a spirit of generosity that mirrors the widow. I pray we can be less focused on what our heart desires to find under that Christmas tree and more focused on our Lord’s desires for us.

[bctt tweet="My soul wants to be the widow. // Dr. MaryRuth Hackett" username="blessedisshe__"]

We hope you are joining us in our Advent devotional book: All the Generations—available in the shop now.

Dr. MaryRuth Hackett is the host of the podcast Parenting Smarts. She loves historical fiction, dark chocolate, watching her children play soccer, a good cup of coffee (decaf please) and the quiet of the early morning. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and has a passion for helping parents understand the way their children grow and develop. She is a contributing author to our children's devotional prayer book, Rise Up and the author of our Blessed Conversations: Leader Guide found here. You can find out more about her here.