A couple of years ago my husband and I built a new house. My husband, Doug, is a creator at heart. It really isn’t a choice – he is always building something. My youngest son Joel inherited this trait. He loves to create things whether it is with yarn, or paper, or wood – he’s in. Despite his shared joy in creating, he wasn’t very excited about moving. He didn’t want to move, or sort his toys, or hear about what wonders we would have in our new house. He was focused instead on what he would be losing.
I think what my son was experiencing was a normal thing. We all experience loss when there is change. The trick is to name the loss, and then at some point, also to be able to be grateful for what you have. Often losses turn into amazing gifts.

For me, this fine balance ties in with the scarcity mindset, which I have been thinking about lately. Our mindset is influenced by so many factors, and how we see scarcity and abundance isn’t a simple matter. It’s not really just about income either. Sometimes, people who have everything money can buy are stuck worrying if others are taking advantage of them or find themselves constantly reaching for more. I have also met people who might have less economically, but are able to live with great generosity. And vise versa is definitely true as well. So at least some part of it is not what you have, but how you view what you have. Being able to switch from grasping to gratitude has been meaningful to me at different points in my life, and remains something I challenge myself to reach for.
Since our move my son has gained a great new friendship with a next door neighbor. Together they have explored the fields around our houses and even built a couple tepee forts. A while occasionally, he still misses the trees at our old house, we are planting new ones at our current home and remembering to be grateful while we plant them.
I hope that in trying to teach my children to have a generous mindset, I am also learning that there is enough for all of us.
How do you cultivate a generous, abundant mindset in your own life?
Generous God, teach me how to live contentedly and give generously, without reservation. AMEN