I’ve been thinking a lot lately about investments. Here are some things I discovered.  I bet you have had similar epiphanies.  Several months ago I did an assessment- an ROI (return on investment) of my business marketing. That was sobering! I had been spending chunks of every month for the past three years trying to market my business via a certain business group. The return for many hours of concentrated effort, membership dues, and gallons of gas? Exactly two clients. Whoa! Stop that right now. I canceled my membership, stopped the meetings, and never looked back. Whew! So glad to finally stop wasting my precious time and emotional energy! I was surprised at what a difference in my life gaining those 12 hours each month made. And guess what? I chose not to put those hours into more marketing. I decided to be more available to my family and church. I found I had more time to prepare lessons for our children’s Bible class. I had more time to be involved with my grandchildren. I even had a little breathing room. A small step in reducing overwhelm. A big step in increasing fulfillment. It reminded me investing my time in relationships that matter for eternity has the highest ROI (return on investment).

A great way to invest in meaningful relationships and quit wasting time is to have a heart project. What I mean is, if there are things you know are important and you love to do, worthless things will drop away. You’ll be so involved in your heart projects that you won’t have time to waste. You’ll be enjoying your projects so much you won’t need to escape into scrolling social media, reading articles that don’t help your real life, shopping, or being entertained. Only you know what heart project God is prompting you to invest in. He has uniquely gifted you to help others in certain ways. Sharing what you love doing while serving others is doubly fulfilling.

If you’re a parent with children still at home, God has given you built-in heart projects! He has gifted you to care for your children in ways only you can. You can teach them the things you love. Not all of your kids will love all the things you do, but some will love some of the things you do. Don’t push, make it available, and model it. Let them choose what they are wired for. This goes for grandparents, too.

Here is a small example of this principle of introducing kids to what you love: I love to plan, plant, and care for flower gardens. Because we have moved often, I got to plan and plant several gardens at different houses. Recently, our youngest son decided to invest in landscaping at his new home. It made my heart sing to walk in his new gardens with him and see his delight in the new plants he had chosen. And I’ll never forget our surprise fourteen years ago when our oldest son informed us that he had several commercial photography gigs; Nike and the Portland Timbers among them. We didn’t know he had any interest in photography, or that he had bought a camera (on Craigs List), much less started a side gig doing it! Now it’s a profitable career that he enjoys. (I’ve been a happy professional photographer for forty years.). Of course, the most important love we as parents and grandparents seek to teach the children under our care is to love God and his Word. This is best taught by example. And there are no guarantees about our children’s choices.

“And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.” Luke 12:42-44. (We’ll be rewarded for serving, managing, and providing for those under our care.)

I’ve also been examining my spending habits. With the help of a budgeting software, I’ve been more intentional about when and where we spend our money. We’ve always tithed so that was the first category to assign to our budget. Another category is gift giving. Making sure there are appropriate amounts set aside for birthday/Christmas gifts for grandchildren is a priority. I delight in reminding them that they’re important to us. (Gift-giving includes taking the time to thoughtfully choose gifts that will help develop their own interests and skills which can be done within a modest budget.)

The best example of generosity I know is dear Husband’s parents. They provided a hand up to us when we returned to the US after ten years of serving overseas. They never made us feel ‘less than’ even though we were struggling. They honored our dignity even while loaning us a large sum of money that gave us a chance to better our lives with our own hard work. My father-in-law never had a high-paying job and he was forced into medical retirement in his early forties. My mother-in-law began working at that time to help the family financially. Yet they managed their money so carefully that they had a large lump sum to invest in us when we needed it the most. They lived within their means, never paid interest, saved, and invested wisely. They always tithed first, and were generous to family and those in need. What an example to emulate!

PS They loaned us enough money to buy a business. The business we chose had been ‘run into the ground’ by the former owner, was a line of work dear Husband had never done, and required moving our family yet again. But within weeks he had begun to turn it around and soon made it a thriving family business where several of us were involved. And yes, we faithfully paid back our loan to his generous parents.

“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:15-21

What will you do this week to invest your time, effort, and money in relationships?