The Almost New Shower Curtain
I think the inventor of Super Target is an evil villain, intent on stealing my last shred of self-control. Why else would anyone put all those temptations under one roof? Clothes, home decor, food, movies, cosmetics, more food. "Back in the day", when you went to "get groceries", you went to the grocery store. And amazing as it sounds, they only sold groceries at the grocery store. Yes, they may have had an aisle with a few forgotten kitchen utensils, and a couple of crumpled magazines. But nothing like the temptations that attack you while shopping at a Super Target. Our ST even has a Starbucks inside. Double temptation for some folks (I can easily by-pass the Buck, simply because I cannot justify spending that much money on bitter, sugar filled, calorie-laden water).
Yes, I know I could avoid all this temptation by simply not shopping at ST, but they've got me hook, line, and sinker. I have a Target Red debit card that saves me 5% off every purchase. Combine that with the awesome coupons they have online and at the register, and ST ends up saving me a few pennies. Plus, they claim to give back to the community by donating money to the local schools. And I can't lie, the cleanliness of the store is very attractive. Who doesn't love all that red and white?! But their produce department does stink, so they do have one flaw.
Last week I received a promotional card in the mail from ST. I would receive an extra 5% off my entire shopping excursion for the day. Combine that with my standard 5% Red Card and I was looking forward to saving 10% off my purchases. More temptation. So I made a list of all those odd-ball things you need in a house of 5, but sometimes forget to buy. Like vacuum bags, light bulbs, sorbet, toothpaste, and shower curtain liners.
I headed to ST with my favorite shopping companion, my female teenage enabler. Her and I set off in search of all the products we could buy AND save 10% on! When we got to the aisle to look for the shower curtain liner, I was instantly overcome by the very chic shower curtains. Now I was not there to buy a new shower curtain. I was there to buy a new shower curtain liner. But the temptation seized me and before I knew it, I was browsing the aisle considering which shower curtain would look best in our bathroom. We do not need a new shower curtain. Ours is perfectly fine. It has no rips or tears. Yes, it is not the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but mechanically speaking, it works just fine. So why was I spending 10 minutes trying to figure out if I wanted a brown with blue polka dots or something with green in it?
January 6th would have been my grandma's 104th birthday. Her and my grandpa lived through two World Wars, the depression, the loss of a 20yo son, and many other hardships. My grandpa was a simple tradesman. They never had a ton of money. Yet they always seemed satisfied with what they had. They didn't shop for new shower curtains, just because theirs was a little outdated. My grandpa's white Ford Galaxy no longer had any interior liner on the ceiling. You looked right at the metal roof. But it still got him from point A to point B, so it was good enough. I remember my aunts buying my grandma a new Sunday dress, because if they didn't, she wouldn't. The dress she had was just fine, in her opinion.
Why can't I be like that? Why can't I be satisfied with the shower curtain (and the dresses and the shoes and the car and the...) I already have? Why do I think I always need to update and improve and refresh? I'm not talking about fixing things that are broken (like both of our leaky showers) or replacing things that are empty (like my lip gloss). I'm talking about buying "stuff" simply because you have an additional 5% off coupon. Or because it's on sale. Or because it would just look sooooo cute in your house or on you or on your child or in your yard.
In our family effort to "be radical" and spend less to give away more, I'm always asking myself, "Do we really "need" this?". And the answer to the shower curtain dilemma was, NO! We did not need a new shower curtain. So I finally got up enough self-control to get out of the bathroom temptation aisle and left with just my clear, plastic liner in my cart. And headed straight to the toothpaste aisle, where there was no foreseeable shopping temptations to overcome.
Treasures in Heaven
Yes, I know I could avoid all this temptation by simply not shopping at ST, but they've got me hook, line, and sinker. I have a Target Red debit card that saves me 5% off every purchase. Combine that with the awesome coupons they have online and at the register, and ST ends up saving me a few pennies. Plus, they claim to give back to the community by donating money to the local schools. And I can't lie, the cleanliness of the store is very attractive. Who doesn't love all that red and white?! But their produce department does stink, so they do have one flaw.
Last week I received a promotional card in the mail from ST. I would receive an extra 5% off my entire shopping excursion for the day. Combine that with my standard 5% Red Card and I was looking forward to saving 10% off my purchases. More temptation. So I made a list of all those odd-ball things you need in a house of 5, but sometimes forget to buy. Like vacuum bags, light bulbs, sorbet, toothpaste, and shower curtain liners.
I headed to ST with my favorite shopping companion, my female teenage enabler. Her and I set off in search of all the products we could buy AND save 10% on! When we got to the aisle to look for the shower curtain liner, I was instantly overcome by the very chic shower curtains. Now I was not there to buy a new shower curtain. I was there to buy a new shower curtain liner. But the temptation seized me and before I knew it, I was browsing the aisle considering which shower curtain would look best in our bathroom. We do not need a new shower curtain. Ours is perfectly fine. It has no rips or tears. Yes, it is not the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but mechanically speaking, it works just fine. So why was I spending 10 minutes trying to figure out if I wanted a brown with blue polka dots or something with green in it?
January 6th would have been my grandma's 104th birthday. Her and my grandpa lived through two World Wars, the depression, the loss of a 20yo son, and many other hardships. My grandpa was a simple tradesman. They never had a ton of money. Yet they always seemed satisfied with what they had. They didn't shop for new shower curtains, just because theirs was a little outdated. My grandpa's white Ford Galaxy no longer had any interior liner on the ceiling. You looked right at the metal roof. But it still got him from point A to point B, so it was good enough. I remember my aunts buying my grandma a new Sunday dress, because if they didn't, she wouldn't. The dress she had was just fine, in her opinion.
Why can't I be like that? Why can't I be satisfied with the shower curtain (and the dresses and the shoes and the car and the...) I already have? Why do I think I always need to update and improve and refresh? I'm not talking about fixing things that are broken (like both of our leaky showers) or replacing things that are empty (like my lip gloss). I'm talking about buying "stuff" simply because you have an additional 5% off coupon. Or because it's on sale. Or because it would just look sooooo cute in your house or on you or on your child or in your yard.
In our family effort to "be radical" and spend less to give away more, I'm always asking myself, "Do we really "need" this?". And the answer to the shower curtain dilemma was, NO! We did not need a new shower curtain. So I finally got up enough self-control to get out of the bathroom temptation aisle and left with just my clear, plastic liner in my cart. And headed straight to the toothpaste aisle, where there was no foreseeable shopping temptations to overcome.
Matthew 6:19-20
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Have a blessed week!
Krystal
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