Lately, I have been submerged in the “stuff” world and by that I mean the material possessions of this world. This is mostly due to having my garage full of other people’s stuff they donated for a fundraising garage sale this past weekend. I may have been overwhelmed, but that stuff has been turned into financial means to help a child find a family. Thank you to everyone that donated, shopped, and supported this fundraising event. In doing so you have lived out one of my favorite bible verses from Luke 12:33 “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”
A few weeks ago my friend shared with me a story about a woman from Germany that came to visit her neighborhood garage sale. Her family had recently moved to the United States and was quick to ask my friend about the garage sale phenomenon in our country. Her questioning got me thinking about the cultural obsession we have with “stuff”. There is no question that we live in a land of abundance; we purchase things beyond what we need, only to later either give it away to a charity or sell it to other people so they can have more stuff. In most cultures, people only purchase what they need to survive and in some countries they don’t even have the financial means to do that. Sorting through the items in my garage I was overwhelmed with the generosity of the people that helped our family with this fundraiser, but I felt heartache for all the families in the world that would have loved to have a fraction of what was in my garage.
And while at times I am torn about how to handle global poverty and the abundance we have in America, I also know I cannot live my life with guilt for the place I live and all the blessings God has given me. All I can do is understand that for those of us that have been given much in life, much is expected. I am trying to live my life seeking the balance between what I need and what God is asking me to give to others. It is hard for me to live in abundance, because while most days I want to give all of myself and the excess I have, there are times I get swept up in the “oh wouldn’t a new kitchen table be nice” moment. This is true for not only my material possessions, but of my time and talents as well when I have the “please leave me alone, I really don’t want to help today” moments. I have such a long way to go to on this and I pray daily that God works a miracle in my heart on this matter.
Thank you again for giving of your possessions so we could turn it into a way to help a child in need of a family. Thank you for being a part of helping me see what a blessing it is to live where we live and have been given the means to spread love to the world.
