Materialism

Here it is, December 1st, with two weeks of classes to go and graduation on the horizon. Preparation for moving onto the mission field is already underway...that's where this week's post comes from.

I have started sorting my belongings, reminiscing as boxes are emptied and the donation pile, trash, to go home and packing piles grow. I giggle over little things as I hold and look at them and then put them in the appropriate pile.

Then, there are the big things; not necessarily in size, but big in sentimental value. We all have those 1,2 or 3 items that hold a special place in our heart even if it's no bigger than your thumb. It might be a piece of costume jewelry from your deceased great-grandmother or maybe a ticket stub from the first movie you went to with your significant other.

For me, sorting clothing, jewelry, nail polish, and shoes (yes, shoes), is not difficult. I am moving to a tropical environment, I probably don't need 5 pairs of boots. One pair will suffice, and maybe it makes since to get them there rather than move them. This kind of thing is just using the logical side of my personality. I prefer that, Star Trek's Spock has always been my favorite character and so operating logically is not hard. However, there is still the sentimental/emotional side that appears when I come across other items like dishes, pictures, wedding things etc.

What's the problem with moving overseas with some china and wedding memorabilia? I will have a house there too! Why not load my 3 suitcases full of dishes? What else could I possible need? We have to eat on something right? Load it up! Then Spock appears:"it's illogical. You need clothes, your Bibles, some books....you can buy dishes there. Use the suitcase for things you can't get there and stuff to sustain you until you are moved into your house". "But my china! I have to be able to be hospitable for Jonathan's ministry! I can get clothes there, and I will make the Bibles fit in." "Illogical! The china will break. And you have to have some clothes because you can't do laundry right away when you get there..." and so the inward conversation goes.

I say all of this and I am sure you are all thinking, so what's the point? We get it, you like china more than clothes. What does that have to do with materialism?

My point is this. We collect things, intentionally or not, we collect things. Sorting goods, I find things that I had to have 6 months ago, and they are now being tossed into the donation pile without a second thought. A magazine article I wanted to read lies among other miscellaneous papers that my desk has accumulated. Things that were given to me and I loved for a month, or used for a few weeks, are now not making the "cut" for the international move. As I watch the trash pile grow I am amazed how many "things" have somehow appeared in my room. More than once I have scratched my head wondering where something has come from and wondering how long I have had it. How did I collect so much material "stuff" and not notice?

I begin to think about the Jews feeling Russia and Germany at the beginning of World War Two, the slaves fleeing to Freedom and other such events. In these instances, the people could take even fewer things than I can. They left so much behind that they never saw again. Family and friends, china, clothes and shoes, pianos, family heirlooms and so much more. In some instances they may have had only the clothes on their backs, depending completely on God and humanity to give them everything else they needed. And here I am surrounded by my worldly goods. It really puts things in perspective.

Yes, I have packed a few precious pieces of china, linens from Grandmother and a few other precious and sentimental things to me. However, looking at my donation pile and wondering about who might be buying these things makes me think about something else. Who is/are those people? How old are they? What do they look like? Have they been hunting for these things like I used to? Is my materialism going to bless them? I wonder what they are going through. Are they financial strapped like I was for most of my life? Are they saved? Have I seen them and just don't know? Will I meet them? Are they married? Do they have children? Is this going to be a gift for someone in their family because they cannot afford to go by something new? Did they loose everything and are starting from scratch?

So many questions and such a small pile. Maybe my rejects will be someone else's treasure. Just like some of my things that are making the "cut". Maybe I can part with more than I realize. After all, a house is a home when there is the presence of God, not by how many pieces of china the cabinets hold.

Yes, I will still shed some tears when parting with some things, and not batting an eye when parting with others. But one thing is for sure, my "stuff" is just stuff, and God is still God. So I will fill my 3 suitcases and when I pull that last zipper closed I will look at my pile of discarded things and say a prayer. I am starting a new life, a new ministry, in a new country. Someone else may never get that chance. I will say a prayer for those who get my things, and walk away. I am richly blessed by God's love, everything else is material. Yes, even my precious china.