There’s a storage unit near my home that I admire
every time I pass by. I’ve occasionally said, “If I ever have anything to
store, this is where I’ll bring it.” The person in the car with me, usually my
husband, typically responds with a comment such as, “The way you get rid of
stuff, you’ll never have anything to store.” Remarks such as these are likely
criticisms, but I choose to take them as compliments.
It’s
true. It’s not a question of being right or wrong, I just don’t enjoy hanging
on to many things. I’m quick to give away items I no longer use, and throw away
things that cannot or should not be used. A transcript of my son Geoffrey’s
thoughts at this point of the story would read, “What about all of your
journals?” I would have to admit he is
correct. Journals, pictures, and anything my children have written are tucked
away in a file cabinet, pretty boxes, and on my computer’s hard drive. Other than that, I don’t keep much.
Nor have I amassed any interesting
or valuable collections, unless you consider a file cabinet, pretty boxes, and
a hard drive a collection. (Geoff does.) My friend Amy used to scour the city
of New Orleans in search of the best and the brightest objects to add to her
mother’s owl collection. Finally, after opening another year’s worth of gifts
bearing the images of owls, Amy’s mom took the floor. “I have an announcement
to make. I am no longer collecting owls. I am now collecting diamonds.” Hmmm…
now that’s an idea…
I just
figure the less I own, the less chance I’ll have of becoming attached to
things. I think my daughter Elise is
beginning to feel that way as well. At the end of a recent trip to a large city,
during the daylight hours, at a gas station on the side of a busy highway, her
purse was stolen while she was putting gas in the car. It was the purse her
boyfriend gave her. The one containing her matching wallet filled with
identification cards, a couple of credit cards, and five dollars in cash.
You
could never tell by looking at her, but trust me, Elise has a feisty side she
doesn’t try to hide. After cancelling her cards, filling out a police report,
and identifying the thieves on the store’s security cameras, Elise came to the
conclusion that from now on she will carry her belongings in a Ziploc storage
bag and use a rubber band to secure her money. (This might be a good time to
add ‘dramatic’ to her list of character traits.)
I waited
until she took a breath, then said, “I’m just thankful you weren’t hurt or
kidnapped.”
“Oh,
no,” she began, “if they had touched me…”
I had
to wait a few minutes before continuing with the advice I heard from a young
man after Hurricane Isaac. “Love only what can love you back. Insure the rest.”
Jesus’
advice was much better, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy , and
where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
Being
generous, willing to share with those in need, investing time in people and
acts of obedience to God are a few ways of storing treasures in heaven. I like
to think there’s a storage unit in heaven awaiting the treasures I am to send. When
this is my priority, my chance of growing attached to things on earth greatly
diminishes.
It’s also my belief
that when our priorities are in order, God provides time for hobbies we enjoy, whether
it’s sports, travel, housing antiques that have been handed down, organizing
scrapbooks for the photographs we have stored in boxes, or adding to whatever
collections hold our interest.
Oh, and if our
collections become too large, there’s a storage unit near my home
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