The Riches of Love

"Who, being loved, is poor?" Oscar Wilde

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

When my husband and I were first married, we had very different views when it came to money. If the bills are paid — and they always were — and there was no money left in the bank, as far as Rob was concerned, we were fine. Nowadays, there’s always money left in the bank. When we were first married … well, that was another story.

Me? I would watch the bank account total decrease and my anxiety level would rise. As the money disappeared, so did my security. One day Rob asked me, “How much money do you need left in the bank to make you feel secure?”

I looked at the pre-bill paying total and said, “Just a little bit more than what’s in there right now.”

Back then I equated our financial status with being rich or being poor. And I wasn’t even aiming for super-rich. I just wanted to be comfortable. I wanted to not worry . . . I didn’t want to come close to feeling poor.

I’ve learned being rich or being poor has nothing — absolutely nothing — to do with the bottom line of your bank statement. That kind of status is based on monetary ups and downs that sometimes we don’t even have control over.

Tell me who your friends are — not how many friends you have — and I’ll know what kind of wealth you have in your life. Tell me who loves you … and we will both begin to see the true riches of your life.

In Others’ Words: How do you define wealth? Who adds richness to your life?

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The riches of love - thoughts from author @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” 

A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.