You would not think a church yard sale is a source for spiritual reflection. But for me, it is.
About a year and a half ago, I cleaned house. Really cleaned house. When my mother died I had inherited all sorts of stuff. Some of it I loved -- hand-stitched quilts made by my great-grandmother, my grandmother's china and dining room set, a china figurine of a little girl playing dress-up that my mother kept in the curio when I was a little girl playing dress-up. But most of it, I didn't love. It may have belonged to my mother, grandmother, great-aunt, great-grandmother, but it wasn't something I connected with them. And it wasn't something I loved. I kept it because somebody has to keep such things, right? They are family treasures. And yet, I wasn't treasuring them. And I started realizing that I wasn't using the stuff I did love because it was so hard to get to it. I hardly ever set the table with my grandmother's china, for instance, because there were all sorts of other serving trays, tea sets, and glassware that was also living in the dining room cabinets. It was too much work to set the table with Grandma's china, because it was tightly stacked in one little corner to make room for everything else.
It was an epiphany of sorts. I decided to box up everything I didn't love or use so that I'd have room for the things that are most important. Boxes upon boxes left my house. You know what? I haven't missed a thing.
I feel free.
In this country, we are blessed -- or perhaps cursed -- with material abundance. Having stuff, maintaining stuff, acquiring more stuff can become an obsession. I think Jesus knew that. I think when he said it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, he was recognizing that our material concerns can get in our way. Our collections and inheritances take our attention away from what matters most -- a life where we depend upon God, love our family, live in peace.
So this church yard sale coming up? Don't look at it as a fundraiser. The money raised for the church's ministry is of secondary importance. More important is the spiritual practice of letting go and the freedom that comes with it.
Peace,
Pastor Lisa
About a year and a half ago, I cleaned house. Really cleaned house. When my mother died I had inherited all sorts of stuff. Some of it I loved -- hand-stitched quilts made by my great-grandmother, my grandmother's china and dining room set, a china figurine of a little girl playing dress-up that my mother kept in the curio when I was a little girl playing dress-up. But most of it, I didn't love. It may have belonged to my mother, grandmother, great-aunt, great-grandmother, but it wasn't something I connected with them. And it wasn't something I loved. I kept it because somebody has to keep such things, right? They are family treasures. And yet, I wasn't treasuring them. And I started realizing that I wasn't using the stuff I did love because it was so hard to get to it. I hardly ever set the table with my grandmother's china, for instance, because there were all sorts of other serving trays, tea sets, and glassware that was also living in the dining room cabinets. It was too much work to set the table with Grandma's china, because it was tightly stacked in one little corner to make room for everything else.
It was an epiphany of sorts. I decided to box up everything I didn't love or use so that I'd have room for the things that are most important. Boxes upon boxes left my house. You know what? I haven't missed a thing.
I feel free.
In this country, we are blessed -- or perhaps cursed -- with material abundance. Having stuff, maintaining stuff, acquiring more stuff can become an obsession. I think Jesus knew that. I think when he said it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, he was recognizing that our material concerns can get in our way. Our collections and inheritances take our attention away from what matters most -- a life where we depend upon God, love our family, live in peace.
So this church yard sale coming up? Don't look at it as a fundraiser. The money raised for the church's ministry is of secondary importance. More important is the spiritual practice of letting go and the freedom that comes with it.
Peace,
Pastor Lisa
RSS Feed