Gather Little by Little

This is a guest post by Chelsey who blogs at only help my unbelief. If you enjoy this post, make sure you subscribe to her blog!

Some people find motivation to handle money wisely from their families. Others from experience. Still others have ambitious, worthwhile futures they’re working toward.

My motivation is a 9-year-old in Peru named Lisbet.

I first “met” Lisbet last December, on a table in the lobby of a concert hall.

The table for Compassion International had dozens of packets, all including a picture of a child in a foreign country who needed a sponsor. I pored over the packets for a long, long time.

In the end, it was a picture of a little girl with a somewhat stern look on her face that captured me.

It costs me $32 a month (about a dollar a day) to sponsor Lisbet. Eighty percent of that money goes directly to her care, which includes food and clothes, school supplies, and the ability to take part in Biblical studies at a local church in her home country of Peru.

I’m in the middle of looking for a job after graduating from college four months ago. When I’m tempted to give up the long and arduous search, I remember Lisbet.

I live in the suburbs of a large town, so it’s a 20-mile drive to see friends, my boyfriend and to go to church. When I’m tempted to waste gas unnecessarily, I remember Lisbet.

When I ponder whether I should stop and grab fast food for dinner or find something in the cupboards, I remember Lisbet.

It isn’t easy, especially because I’ve never met her face-to-face. We don’t even speak the same language.

But I see her in the letters she writes me that in near-perfect cursive, telling me how happy she is that I’m her sponsor and how she prays for me.

And I see her in the beautiful pictures she draws for me and sends in every letter.

And so I have her picture posted where I can see it, to remind me why it’s important to be wise with my money.

There’s a little girl thousands of miles away from me who is fed physically and spiritually because of what God has given me, and I can’t imagine wasting that on things that don’t really matter.

Whether it’s your family, your dreams or a 9-year-old who loves monkeys, parrots and the color pink, find your “Lisbet” who will remind you of what’s most important.