The Market of a Thousand Souviners

🧢 The Market of a Thousand Souvenirs 🎽

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 🇲🇽

We stepped off the ship and walked into a sea of color. Flea markets packed wall to wall with shirts, hats, blankets, magnets the same few items repeated again and again. The hustle was real. Vendors calling out to every tourist, bartering, negotiating, doing what they had to do to make a sale.

It was beautiful, but also… heavy.

I looked at these simple things a t-shirt that might fade in a few washes, a hat that’ll sit in the closet and I realized how often we buy things hoping they’ll fill something in us. How easily we trade money for a moment, and how quickly that moment gets tossed aside when we get home.

This market wasn’t just about souvenirs. It was a mirror.

We consume endlessly. Not because we need more but because we’re rarely content with what we have. Meanwhile, the people here were working, grinding, surviving. Not asking for a handout, just for a chance.

And I couldn’t help but feel convicted.

💔 “Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’” – Luke 12:15 (NIV)

Maybe we don’t need more stuff.

Maybe we need more gratitude.

More presence.

More purpose.

It’s okay to buy the shirt. But don’t forget to value the moment that came with it the people, the culture, the grind. Respect the hustle. Tip a little more. Talk a little longer. Look people in the eyes.

And maybe… walk away with something deeper than a souvenir.

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