Three lessons I learned as I opened my wallet…
By Audrey Amanda C. Quir

There are always times in our lives when we peer inside our purse and wonder, where on earth has my money gone!  How did I know? Easy. I had experienced the same thing over a million times.
My father had been teaching me that stewardship is not only about how much you save, but how you used your money in a way that would glorify God. And as I look back and reflect, I wasn’t doing any of the two. I was not saving, nor was I using my money in the best way I could.
I just spend it, fast enough to even amaze me sometimes. You would think that I was in a money-spending competition! Not long after every money escapade, I would stare at my wallet and ask: did I just squander my allowance for a week in just two days??
Believe me, this episode did not happen once, or twice, this happened many, many times over the past few years. And it just keeps getting worse. I became a spending machine. Though I was aware of what was happening, I couldn’t stop!
The day when the editor-in-chief of this church’s newsletter told us about the topic we were supposed to write about, I felt my stomach churned into knots. That night, I stared blankly at the computer screen my hands were on the keyboard but not moving. Writing an article wasn’t supposed to be this hard, I felt little to no idea.
My mom answered that for me. It was hard because I wasn’t doing it. I wasn’t being a steward of God’s blessings, and this bothered me a lot.
The next day I intentionally sat down and opened my wallet to find things that seemed always there: a picture, a 25-centavo coin, and my parents’ calling card.
And these are the things I want to share that taught me a lesson.

A 25-centavo coin
I recalled how many times I bought something that I don’t need just because it’s cheap. I would buy CDs, notebooks, pens, accessories that aren’t really important at the moment; it’s just because the price was very affordable.
Though I don’t know what I could do with it, as long as I could afford it, I buy it! And not long after, when the time comes that I really need the funds, I don’t have it anymore.
The centavo coin reminded me that every small sum you spend, even if the amount seemed insignificant at the moment, will still be of value when the time comes that you need it.

Parents’ calling card
The calling card had reminded me that the money I used for my pleasure didn’t just magically appear in my hands. It was worked for. And the sad part of it was that I was not the one who labored for it – it was my parents – but I was the one spending it all away.
And if I would reminisce, it has been a very long time since I did something for them in return. When was the last time I bought flowers for my mom? When was the last time I bought my dad a new handkerchief?
In special occasions such as birthdays, how many times have I used my own money to buy them some gifts?
I felt ashamed and sad that all those times when I could have used the money to thank my parents, I wasted it all away to things that are not really of great importance.

A Picture
Most of the times I would use my money for enjoyment, like internet and cell phone load. And it wasn’t long before I realized that I had been spending less time with my friends. My relationship with them is becoming a little too dense.
And the picture reminded me that I could still enjoy life without having to spend so much money. God has blessed me with friends that are more valuable than money, friends I could treasure forever.
Being a godly steward does not happen overnight, nor does it happen right after you realized you made a mistake.
Learning is a process, and sometimes it’s not easy. Temptation will always be there, trying to put you down. But the person who wins over the world’s ways is always the person who has Jesus Christ at his side.