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Today I lost a ring that belonged to my grandmother. Inside, I was crushed. I’m pretty sure that my grandfather made the ring as jewelry-making was a hobby of his. Anyway, I decided, contrary to my nature, not to freak out and make a big scene about my loss. I simply told the girls that if they saw it anywhere, to let me know. No time spent searching or bemoaning my loss.
I thought about my possessions for a minute. Yes, the ring was precious to me, but how much more would the Lord require from me as we prepare to go overseas. I’m a pack rat – I love old things, and as we’ve had the most storage space over the years, most of my family’s “old” things have been kept at our house. What am I going to do with them? The thought of selling them makes me sick to my stomach. I’m hoping my sisters and my dad will take some of them (hint-hint), but I know their space is limited, too.
Next, my thoughts went to wedding presents that had been given to us ten years ago and what would become of them. “Wow, this is going to hurt.” We love our house and our modest furnishings inside. We have a small house that we like to call a cottage – seems less dumpy that way. I’m by no means an interior decorator, but the things inside our house are full of memories. I think we’ve bought one “new” piece of furniture in ten years, and it looks old. The rest are hand-me-downs, all the things no one else had room for that I couldn’t bear to part with.
Chalk this up to one of many areas the Lord is going to have to carve away in me. I’ll probably always love old things and continue to cherish the past. My prayer is that I won’t get that “torn” feeling inside when I think about parting with them. After all, what cost is it really? What more did Jesus give up to come and rescue me? I pray that whether we stay or go, that my heart will forever be changed about my “things” - that I will never cling too tightly to things on which the moths and dust are going to have a hay day!
6 comments:
How much can you take? Will they send it on a ship?
We haven't gotten far enough in the process to really find out. Do you remember Jan and Thad Harper? They're here right now, and Thad's working at the church. I need to ask Jan the next time I see her. I'm pretty sure they sold just about everything before they left - I know she mentioned having several garage sales. I'm kinda getting the itch to get things organized and culled out. It definitely wouldn't hurt us to get rid of some clothes and toys now!
Craigslist.org might be a good way to go for weeding out some things now until you know more.
Hey Dee Dee....I love your blog. Your girls are beautiful. We brought everything with us when we left the states 10 years ago. We certainly got rid of a lot of junk before we packed our crates, but we brought furniture, kitchen appliances, paper products (good for stuffing in nooks and crannies), pictures, momentos. We just brought it all with us. Some people don't....they sell it all and buy new things in their new country. It depends on where you end up going, too. But you definitely want to bring what makes your home feel like home to you. I'll email you more!
Angie Lechner
P.S. Here's a link to a friend of a friend's blog. They also are preparing to go overseas with the IMB. Check out her quotes on her sidebar. They are so appropriate for what you were talking about here.
angie
http://thusfarhasthelordhelpedus.blogspot.com/
thanks Dee Dee for sharing your story. I, too had struggled with holding on to things. I made a big move over a year ago and held a garage sale...as all my possessions were going...I cried. I was reminded by a friend...it's "just stuff" Getting rid of the "just stuff" was cathartic for me and it made room for new memories not made of physical possessions. Thanks!
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