First World Problems

I've been doing A LOT of thinking about my future lately. Okay, so maybe it's not thinking... maybe it's more... worrying. Yes, worrying seems to be the appropriate word. I feel like that's all I do. Worry about how we'll pay rent. How will we be able to afford to keep living? Will we have to move? What if David doesn't find a job? What if my stuff here at work falls through? And of course, what about my precious kittens!? Their birthday's coming up, and momma needs to make them a kitty cat food cake...

And then I remember. I remember that I'm doing all this worrying while watching Teen Mom 2 on my DVR, on our flat screen. That I'm texting David about "if he's heard on that job yet" from my smart phone. That I worry about paying for the gas going in my 2010 Mazda 3, with bluetooth speakerphone capabilities. The groceries I so tirelessly clip coupons for? Are to make this Indian Butter Chicken recipe I found on pinterest this week, which I found while searching on my laptop, one of the four computers in our apartment.

These, ladies and gentlemen, are what I like to call "First World Problems".

Now let me backtrack. These problems, to me in this point in time, hurt like hell. I'm scared, I feel lost and unsafe; they are real to me. And they should be. It's my life, and this is what is going on in it, and I don't feel bad about feeling... well, bad. But what I'm urging myself to do is to keep it in perspective. Be scared, be afraid, but then remember just how lucky I am. I have a clean bed and warm place I come home to every night. I am in the top 1% of the world.

Which reminds me of a video Rob Bell put out a few years ago. Whether you like him or dislike, think he's a heretic going to hell or really, don't think of him at all, what he has to say in this video is, to me, dead on:




Maybe I need to remind myself that I am "rich", despite how it feels to be the one at the discount food store buying crystal light that expired last September (yes, I did that this week, and you know what? It tasted GOOD). Maybe, what I have is enough.

Which leads me back to this idea of "First World Problems". Below is a blog I found some time ago; it cracks me up every time I read it. I've provided the link below, the blog's description, and a few posts from readers I could definitely see myself saying at some point in time.

I write to challenge myself, but also all of us, to really sit back and reflect on how blessed we are, even when it doesn't feel like it.

First World Problems Blog: "It isn't easy being a privileged citizen of a developed nation. This blog is a catalog of the unending ways it's lonely at the top. Contact the honkies in charge at info@first-world-problems.com and tell us how you've suffered."

“My back hurts from carrying my $2000 laptop around.”

“My roommate has a different song that plays for every different person who texts her. 'Party in the USA' friend has been texting her for the past two hours.”

“I wanted to watch YouTube videos; however, I found it to be too much effort to roll over and take my computer off hibernate, so I had to wait forever for it to buffer on my iPhone.”

“I can’t fit all of the gift cards I received at Christmas into my wallet.”

“I have to wear a regular motorcycle helmet because the two Bluetooth models I purchased can’t share music with each other.”

"Family Guy’ is on two different channels at the same time and I can’t figure which one has the most potential.”