Stuff!

I love this word, stuff! Webster's defines "stuff" as, " a group or scattering of miscellaneous objects or articles". I just like the way that sounds. "Hey kids! Come get your scattering of miscellaneous objects off the floor!" Stuff. :) It seems like we start accumulating it from day one. Honestly, the first child in a family manages to fill the house with stuff, even before they make their entrance into the world!

Matthew, our 8 yr old, has been particularly fond of stuff from a very early age. When he would get up from a nap or in the morning, he had to carry his bed "stuff" with him. Started with a silky blanket, then he added a stuffed Barney, and various Webkinz over the years. All of our kids have had to have certain "stuff" with them over the years. Whether going to bed, going to the kitchen, or going somewhere in the car, there is always the accompanying stuff. Once, when Nick was 3, we pulled out of Walmart, and he said, "Mommy, we got some STUFF!" That's exactly right! In the trunk was a scattering of miscellaneous objects! Did we need them all? I probably would have told you at the time that we did. But all things considered, how much do we really NEED?

I'm going to be trying this year to filter out the stuff in our lives. Physical and emotional stuff, because it gets in the way of our purpose, doesn't it? Our pursuit of stuff gets in the way of our pursuit of God. "I don't have time to read God's Word, no time for prayer today, I have to work, I need the money..."

In Haiti, they don't have much stuff...in fact, I would venture to say, they don't have any stuff at all. At least about 90% of the population doesn't have anything beyond necessities, and they lack many of those. When I was there I was struck by some of the Haitians that we met that are able to attend college in the US. They plan to go back to Haiti when they graduate, to help their country. I have such difficulty comprehending the choice to go back to live in such a place, when you can be here in the US. That is how much I have come to worship my stuff, it gives me comfort.

Heavenly Father, help me this year, to lift up mine eyes to the hills, to focus on You, from whom all blessings flow. Oh, for the grace, to throw away the stuff the hinders my relationship with You.
In Christ's Name, Amen.

Danielle <><