Stuff is not just stuff

I spent part of today polishing silver.  We actually have very little, but the pieces we do have are very special,   like the salt and pepper shaker from Shawn's grandmother, and the tea biscuit container from Ms. Melia in Summerville, and the footed butter dish from Mrs. Bemis at my Alton church, who gifted it to me when she went to live in an assisted living center (be careful about saying you like something when you visit - you may end up giving it a permanent home).

As we have spent the last week unpacking from our most recent move, I have thought a lot about the things we have gathered over the years of our marriage and even before.  The things that we carry with us from house to house span the years of our lives, from our births to our recent birthdays.  And I think that I have been able to divide them into four categories.

Personal and Profound:  Obviously, these are the most important of our belongings.  Wedding photos, childhood mementos, treasured gifts and other belongings go in this category.  There is a story that goes with many of these items.  One of our packers was very chatty, and I was able to share with him the history of many of the items we keep in a glass-fronted bookcase that came from my grandmother's house.  It's not just the antique glass and childhood bank that mean something to us, it's also the piece of furniture itself that has great personal value.  It stood in my grandmother's house for decades, filled with books, and over the years I read every one of them, including Peyton Place when I was 14.  We refinished it and replaced the glass when it was broken in our second and third moves.  We watch them carefully wrap it with each move, placing layers of cardboard over the doors to protect them from being broken again.  And each time we set it up, we tell the stories of the items we place inside.  This bookcase is a mirror into our pasts, and tells not only a part of our stories, but the stories of our families and the love that we all share. 

Fond Memories:  There are a lot of these items roaming around our house.  We still love the cake cover and wine glasses we got from squadron friends at our wedding.  We regularly use items that were given as farewell gifts from friends at different churches and bases.  Each time we see them, they remind us of lives shared well, and how blessed we are to have friendships that have withstood the test of time.

Might Need Someday:  This comprises a lot of what we have gone through this week.  Many of our boxes have been in storage since before we left for Germany in 2004. We started going through them before we moved, and we loaded up the back of my Avalanche four times with household items, books and furniture to take to Goodwill or the church yard sale.  And still, I already have four boxes of the same kind of stuff to go out for the Purple Heart truck next week when they come to our street.  These are the things we used someplace, and thought we might need again, but lived without for almost seven years.  Hopefully these items will find a good home with people who need what they can provide.

No Clue:  And then there are these items - half burned candles, broken lampshades and brittle, sun-fried plastic flowerpots, bags of packing peanuts, and magazines and journals from 1995.  These items have been properly disposed of (our trash and recycling people were very busy today), and tomorrow when the unpacked boxes are taken away, my spouse will be able to pull his car into the garage, which is why we have really been working so hard all week.

Our stuff is more than just stuff.  It is an accumulation of things, but also represents the phases and relationships of our lives.  Don't worry - when all is said and done, we'll still have a lot of stuff, but I hope be can be more mindful of how it can be useful in the present, and mindful of people we love. 

I am still wrestling with Jesus' challenge to leave behind the things of the world in order to follow him.  Maybe clearing out the clutter will take me one step closer to what he intended life to be about.

Peace, Deb

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?  What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving.  People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.  Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions.  Don't worry about missing out.  You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."  (Matthew 6:^30-33  The Message)

I remember when...

So, we've all heard someone say, "I remember when..."  Maybe it has even been one of us.  Sometimes this statement is preface to a great memory... a wedding, the birth of a child, a funny situation from childhood or something crazy we did with friends.  But other times this statement is the preface to a story of a different kind... a story which reflects the belief that things were better, safer, or more honorable in a time that is past or before some significant change occurred.


We hear this a lot today - in the church and in society.  Some people believe that life would be good if there was never any change, or if we could go back to the way things used to be, as if that would be a magical cure to all that is wrong with the world.  But think of what we would have to "give back" if we were miraculously able to go back in time.  think about conveniences like smartphones and the internet... innovations in medicine and machinery... and for me, relationships that would have never materialized if things always stayed the same.


I remember than when I talked to my parents about going to seminary, my mom was worried, because her dad was a minister, and she wanted a more stable life for me than she remembered growing up.   And I must admit that I took her concerns seriously, and prepared to be able to come and leave and come again.  (Little did she know that I would meet and marry a wonderful man who really give me a mobile lifestyle.)  It has not always been easy, and I have not always been happy right away in new situations.  But I think that I am the better for all the changes in my life.  And I hope that I have made a difference in the lives of people that I have known and loved.  So I can give thanks everyday for the opportunities that I have had to do new and different things and to live in lots of different kinds of places.


But the price I have the pay is going on around me... the sound of crinkling paper and tape being pulled and boxes being filled.  These are long days, and there are long days on the other end, too.  But in the end, this change means good things, if only because we get to decide that good will come from all that happens around us.  


We each get to choose how we react and respond to the change that goes on in our lives and in the world.  The life that I live calls me not only to serve Christ in my heart, but live out that life in my relationships with others.  Remember this: Joyful and compassionate people make for joyful and compassionate communities, and together, we can do anything.  Paul's words to the Colossians help us learn how do live these kinds of lives.  May these words be written in our hearts and lived out in our lives as we all face the change before us, now and in the time to come.  


Peace, Deb 


Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14 NIV)