"Stuff"

I have had the opportunity in the past couple of weeks to spend a little more time at home and in doing so have re-discovered something my kids have known and disparaged for a long, long time—I have “stuff” that accumulates here and there. I don’t consider myself a genuine packrat, but I’m pretty close. As I consider that possibility, I really hate it; but, I do have excuses.

1. So many times I have thrown an item away only to need it and replace it a short time later. I really hate having to buy the darn thing again and then have to figure out what to do with it as it becomes part of the stuff accumulation.

2. My mother was an older mom who with my dad had lost all their savings when their bank closed during the great depression. My dad had died when I was 2, so my mom was by necessity the picture of thriftiness (one of the original recyclers). She re-used everything—made quilts from leftover materials from homemade clothing or from worn out garments, crocheted afghans from yarn, and even learned to tat lace Christmas ornaments. We churned butter, grew an enormous garden, and raised popcorn.(You could never guess what we used to get the popcorn kernels off the ears)

3. I have, on occasion, thrown away an important paper that someone in the family needed which cannot be replaced. That feels dreadful! Once, when my daughter’s necessary ticket for a national exam, required for her college graduation, was missing, I felt physically sick thinking I had inadvertently thrown it away while cleaning up “stuff.” Fortunately, as I frantically looked through every stack of “stuff” around, there it was! Hallelujah! How would you feel if your daughter could not graduate from college because you threw away the missing ticket? I have to mention at our house, all problems are the mother’s fault.

4. In order for the US Postal Service to survive, it is essential that they deliver 12 pounds of mail each day to our mailbox. It then must be carried in and placed on our kitchen counter to be strewn out so all pieces are visible at the same time. Many are bills that must be placed in the special to-be-paid slot. Many are credit card offers which we have been warned not to throw in the trash as they may contain too much personal information. There is the regular stack of catalogs, magazines, and sale brochures which we might want to look through sometime, so they should not be thrown away immediately. Then, there are 2 or 3 reminders of appointments that must be posted on the refrigerator. That leaves 1 small piece of mail to be thrown away in the trash to never end up in a stack of “stuff.” Sigh

Today, I’m going to look through some “stuff” and try to eliminate non-essentials. Wait, we might need that sometime. Well, maybe I’ll just rearrange.

Hebrews 12:1 “. . .let us lay aside every weight . . .”