By Nita Wilkinson

Faith Editor

"I've lived with plenty, and I've lived in want. Either way, I've enjoyed the life God gave me."

My mom said those words often. Growing up, money was always tight, but I never knew it. Our holidays were magical. The house was always decorated for the season. Dinner around the table felt like a celebration, even if it was made from whatever happened to be on sale that week.

When my dad left, Mom worked three jobs to keep us afloat. Looking back, I have no idea how she did it. At the time, I just thought that's what moms did. She never let her circumstances steal the joy from our home.

Years later, something unexpected happened. Her high school sweetheart found her again after more than 40 years. They fell in love all over again and married.

For the first time in her life, my mom didn't have to worry about money. She enjoyed it, but it didn't change her.

She was still careful with her spending. She still clipped coupons. Holidays were still beautiful without becoming extravagant. She still found joy in simple things because that's where she had always found it.

Then, after only six years of marriage, Fritz died unexpectedly.

His will left everything to my mom until her death, with the remainder going to his children. Against the advice of lawyers and financial advisers, she immediately gave his children half of the estate. She felt six years of marriage wasn't enough to delay their inheritance.

The decision cost her financially, and before long she found herself living modestly once again.

One day I asked if she missed the lifestyle she had with Fritz. She smiled and said something I'll never forget.

"It doesn't bother me because none of this belongs to me anyway."

That was my mom in a sentence. Whether she had little or much, she lived exactly the same because her security had never been found in a bank account. It was found in Christ.

Paul wrote to Timothy, "As for the rich in this present age... they are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share" (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

My mom understood that kind of wealth. She volunteered wherever she was needed. She gave her time freely. She opened her home. She encouraged people who were hurting. She believed the greatest riches weren't measured by what we owned but by how faithfully we loved God and served others.

That's a lesson our culture desperately needs. We're constantly told we need the bigger house, the newer car, the latest phone, or the next promotion before we'll finally be content. But Jesus tells a different story.

The rich young ruler walked away from Jesus because he couldn't let go of his possessions. A poor widow quietly dropped two small coins into the temple offering, and Jesus said she had given more than anyone else because she trusted God with everything she had.

Contentment has never been about how much is in our wallet. My mom may never have considered herself wealthy, but I've never met anyone richer. It’s about knowing Who holds our future.

My mom has lived with plenty, and she's lived with want. Through both seasons, she's taught me that real treasure isn't found in what we accumulate. It's found in the God who never changes, no matter what our circumstances do. ■