Sunday night, as I was driving home from my mom and dad's house, I was thinking about how pleased I was with my weekend. I didn't get everything on my to do list done, but I got close. I mostly finished my of my Christmas shopping, I had set up the tree and done a little more decorating, I had spent hours helping my mom sew costumes, I'd had a few great meals with family, I enjoyed sleeping in a couple days and not changing out of my pjs until noon. I was running through a little get your week started right to do list in my mind, you know before I go to bed I'll do the dishes, wipe down the bathroom, figure out what to have to lunch tomorrow and maybe do a load of laundry. Over all I was pretty up. But then . . .
I arrived home to find; an ajar back door, scattered belongings, dumped drawers, open jewelry boxes, a smashed window and missing belongings. My heart was racing, my cheeks were flushed, it felt like a violation and I was just mad. But here's the thing, I realized pretty quickly that I wasn't really mad about the over turned drawers, the stolen gems or even the broken window. Sure it would have been nice to pass down the pearls I was given for my 21st birthday to a younger family member and yes it isn't fun to be forced into buying a new computer a few months before you are ready and I'm not really crazy about spending my home repair budget on a window when I really wanted to have water run for an ice maker. All of that is just stuff, stuff I liked, but not stuff that I need. As I was cleaning up broken glass I thought about
this sermon I heard a few weeks ago. The pastor challenged us to think about the question; "if I lost this (whatever this may be) would I be okay?". Here I was faced with on a very small scale that illustration come to life. I lost things, just things and I was absolutely, completely okay.
So why was I mad? I was mad, actually mad isn't even the right word, I was disappointed. I was disappointed because I knew that someone was out there (with a backpack full of my stuff) that didn't get it. The couple hundred dollars they would get from pawning the things from my house wasn't going to make life any better. Maybe it would make things a little more okay for a short while, but not for long and surely spending your life taking what doesn't belong to you must make you so much more less okay than having the things makes like more okay. And that just makes me sad. Sad that there are people who feel like they need to do things like break into the homes of others and sad that there are times when I think that all the stuff is important and that the having of the stuff is what makes me okay.
Finally, I'm going to leave you with maybe the most surprising turn of event in this whole ordeal. I've been feeling really inspired to let go of some of the stuff I've just been hanging on to. I think it is time to pass along unworn necklaces and say good bye to ever used purses, because I really just don't need that stuff.
P.S. To lighten the mood;
Enjoy this great cover from Tuesday's episode of The Voice.
P.P.S. I loved
this article about why people invite you to come to church. And would you like to come
to church with me?
P.P.P.S. Buzzinga, what a way to get back into blogging. I promise I have more fun posts coming very soon!
