Saturday, December 13, 2008

Stuff

Lately it seems all of my time has been spent: sorting, organizing, cleaning, losing, mending, tidying, dusting, donating, getting out, putting away, making, searching for, learning to use, cooking, eating, filing, accounting for, getting, storing, shredding, recycling, finding, losing again and disposing of --stuff. (Not to mention persuading my husband to do some of the same with his stuff.)

So what did we do today? We went Christmas shopping for more! –(Thankfully not all of it for us :-)

I know I’m blessed to have it. After all, much of the world doesn’t have enough.

But is it possible we have too much?

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The real robber


“Watch out for robbers,” friends joked before our vacation at “Robbers’ Cave State Park.”

We didn't really expect to meet any. It had been many years since the cave in the park had been used as a hideout for old time outlaws.

There was one kind of robber that nearly ruined it for me though. It wasn’t a flesh and blood robber and I can’t blame the location. In fact I brought this robber with me all the way from home. It’s called: worry.

The first few days I was so wrapped up with worry I could hardly enjoy the beautiful place or the time off. What a waste!

It had dogged my steps for days before the trip too. So much so that I had been too distracted to remember to bring my hiking boots (I felt pretty silly since hiking was our main planned activity).

It may sound strange but what finally helped was the thought that all that stuff I was worried about would still be there waiting for me when we got back home. Meanwhile I could just forget about it and enjoy my escape from ‘real life’ and all its worries.

I got to thinking though. Why wait until our annual vacation to live worry free?

Wouldn’t it be better if I could live worry free the rest of the year too? If worry could rob me of my ability to relax and enjoy the beauty of our vacation spot, maybe it was robbing me of good stuff at home too. If I didn’t worry so much during normal life, maybe I could really relax more and enjoy the breaks and time off I had there too. Maybe I wouldn’t get so tired and depressed. Maybe the rest and refreshment I got on our vacation would last more than a few days. Hmm…

Philippians 4:6 & 7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”