A Response

Hey Larry,

You don’t know me, but I read your blog often.

I feel strongly about money…I hate it. Even more so, I hate that I need it. My favorite musician these days, Brian Vander Ark (former lead singer to the Verve Pipe), put it this way in his song Nothing But Time, “though you know it means nothing, you just can’t ignore the nickel and dime”. I tried, for a long time. The longer I hid from it, the worse it got. I finally had to face the gravity of the situation after a very expensive, very unexpected situation. In July of this year, I moved away from LA to [smalltown, in the South] to trade my uncertain lifestyle for a steady job and living with my parents. Oy.

It probably sounds like I am about to tell you to go for the money, but I’m not. The reason I made the decision to move was because of my desires. Living as far into the red as I do, it is more than difficult to even move in the direction of my dreams. Before I can accomplish anything, I have to get out of debt and learn how to handle money.

Your situation is much different, I know. Our heart’s desires and talents are gifts from a God who loves us. He also uses our circumstances to guide us in the direction he would like us to go.

A friend of mine in LA got fired this year, albeit unjustly. Within a month, he had a job paying him twice his old salary and more in tune with his desires. While I was in LA, that didn’t happen to me. I was able to find work to keep me fed, but it was never what I wanted to be spending 8+ hours a day doing.

I don’t know what you should do, but ignoring your desires to chase dollar signs is not it. I think the key is in ranking your desires. What is most important in this world to you? I mean, what do you want them to write on your headstone: “Here lies Larry a man who…loved his wife…wrote extraordinary books…pleased God?”

I hope this helps. Just so you know, living in [smalltown] and working for the “man” has been 100 times more difficult than I imagined it would be. Even still, I know this is where God brought me, and he won’t leave me like this.