When I was a younger man, perhaps half as old as I am today, I remember a memory of my grandmother that always makes me smile. You see, Grandma was not very old when she passed away, but she seemed to have a sense that her hour was coming. So literally any time that I (or probably anyone else) visited her home, she would say something like this:
“If you see anything you like, go ahead and take it. I’m not going to be needing it much longer.”
Now, you may think she was making a joke. Of course, Grandma was not without a sense of humor. She was not above even some gallows wit along those lines. But I don’t think she was saying it to tease or to shock. Instead, I think she was being practical. Better to let people take the things that matter to them now than have them agonize over it after the fact. I just may have a thing or two from her in my home today.
It reminds me a little of my own situation. No, I’m not dying, but I do find myself on the brink of an international move, looking to downsize my pile of things before I go! So let me know if there’s anything you want. Pets and children especially.
(Just kidding about the kids. David just turned off the light without being told. Perhaps for the first time his 12 years.)
In any case, we’re making progress toward the goal. Lord-willing, we’ll be leaving the Bay Area toward the end of the year, making a four-week stop-off in Colorado for training, and in Dublin by February. With that in mind, our hour is coming!
So this month we started clearing stuff out.
Downsizing is unsettling. Leaving our comfort zone is scary. But I love this promise from 2 Peter 1:3-4a, here quoted from the ESV:
“[God’s] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises…”
I don’t know what the road ahead looks like, but I know I can trust in God’s provision along the way.
Let me do my part…:-)
If there’s Lego left, could you save it for svac? We only have a small box, need more for the kids!
Great sharing! Your article reminds me of the book I read called “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown. One concept Greg mentioned in the book about us tend to value things we already own more highly than they are worth, and thus find them more difficult to get rid of.
I find it so true. He encourage us to “focus on the vital few”
Reminds me of a quote I just heard recently from Jim Elliot – “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”