This weekend Nick and I had the opportunity to go to Keeneland with some friends. If you are not familiar with Keeneland, it is a beautiful and historic race track in Lexington, Kentucky.

Now, first of all, the outing was not pre-planned so I didn’t have clothes with me that were fitting were such an outing. Second, even if I had known about the event ahead of time, I still don’t think I would have had the proper clothes for the outing.

As we parked and began walking to the track, I noticed people coming from all directions in shirts and ties, fancy little spring dresses, and definite markings of wealth and luxury.

As I looked down at my jeans and t-shirt, I was at least thankful that I had borrowed some hot- pink toe polish from my friend’s daughter to perk up my flip-flop laden feet!

Upon entering the arena, I quickly realized that if you were not holding a glass of beer or puffing on cigar or cigarette, you were in the minority. Nick was soaking in the sights all around us and squeezing through the crowd was like playing follow the leader as we stayed in a line one behind the other dodging cups filled to the rim with alcohol and saying, “Excuse me” and “sorry” as we made our way to the track.

When we finally reached a spot where we had a clear view of the field, it truly was breath-taking to see the horses looking much like those you see at the Kentucky Derby. As the races began, it was fun to hear the crowd cheer and then moan as their chosen horse went from the top of the pack to the bottom or vice versa. Knowing that we had no money at stake, we chose to cheer for the horse picked by the guys standing behind us and it was so fun to cheer with no fear of loss!

The gift shop proved to be just as entertaining as Nick realized that the ladies’ Derby hats ranged in price from $300 to $500. He was amazed, as was I, that ANYONE would spend this much on a hat for one occasion.

Wow! As I look back on this day at the races, I know one thing for sure! I was not born to be wealthy! I was almost sickened at the wastefulness and greed around me, thinking of those in Haiti who are eating dirt because they are starving.

I definitely was a misfit on Saturday, but I am so thankful!

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”