Catchy title, eh? But this isn’t about a pretty girl somewhere……sorry to disappoint.
It’s about my stuff.
Something I really enjoying doing is going to the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores here in town. To me, it’s like treasure hunting….9/10 times, I leave with nothing, but once in a while you find something super cool, super cheap, that you absolutely have to have. Like a teddy-bear-snow-cone-maker. Or a $10 grandfather clock that’s all in pieces. Or a $20 full size pool table. Or a nice 55 liter backpack for $8. Or an antique optometry kit. (Yes, I bought all of those things…..and sooo much more……).
But guess what? I now have an apartment full of super cool stuff, and I’m leaving for the World Race in 12 days. I’m moving out of my apartment, but I’m not moving in anywhere. Which means all my stuff has to go. I knew this was going to happen, of course, when I signed up for the Race. I figured it would be no big deal….it’s just stuff, right?
But when I started packing things up yesterday to haul them off to the Salvation Army (ironic, huh? I must be like the most ideal customer ever….) I found myself second guessing my choices, and trying to find alternative solutions. I have (er, had) a huge collection of board games, and I was pretty proud of it. If it exists, and is any fun to play, I probably owned it.
In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with having cool stuff. There’s nothing wrong with packing it up and storing it until after we get back from the Race. But there is something wrong with being in love with stuff. If it doesn’t have any sentimental value, and isn’t particularly valuable, but it’s still hard to just give it away, it might be time for a heart check.
That’s where I was at. (and am at). My collection of games is a great example. Did I keep a few of the really nice ones? You bet. I still have Settlers, my nice Chess set, and a couple others. But it was hard to get rid of all the rest of them….I wanted to keep my perfect game collection.
COME ON! It’s just stuff! Like seriously, you can buy these games brand new for 5 bucks if you do it right! And the games are just one example….I was having this feeling with lots of my stuff. What’s my problem?? This is a classic Matthew 19:16-22 scenario.
So it’s super cool to see what the Lord is teaching me through this experience. It’s humbling and embarrassing. I don’t have it all figured out now, I’m still learning. But it’s a healthy experience.
