Box after box after endless box began filling our 970 square foot apartment. I knew there were items in these boxes. Items that we apparently couldn’t live without because we spent $300 to rent a truck big enough to move it all; but I couldn’t recall what in the world could be in these boxes that I so desperately needed to bring with me. As the Stuff began taking shape and boxes piled in the corner, I realized that I probably needed to get to get rid of some of it… OR store it so that all our Stuff could fit.
I headed to target- the land of new Stuff. I found stuff to clean our Stuff, store our Stuff, and add to our Stuff. As we squeezed in the new Stuff, the old Stuff piled in a new box. The donate box. We ventured to the Salvation army- the land of reused Stuff. What a cathartic feeling of goodness we felt as we drove to the back and graciously passed off some of our old Stuff to someone new. Then we drove 10 yards to the front and walked in the front door to see if we needed any new-vintage Stuff.
The madness of this perpetual cycle began to sink in…
We fill our lives with Stuff. We get better jobs so that we can get more Stuff. We get a bigger house to store the Stuff. We hurt our backs to lift the Stuff. We get a storage unit to put the leftover Stuff somewhere. We get more Stuff to maintain the other Stuff and need insurance so that we can protect the Stuff. When we move it all revolves around our Stuff… “How big of a place do we need to fit our Stuff?” “How many boxes will we need to move our Stuff?” “What size truck do we need to rent to hold the boxes that hold our Stuff?” “Where in the world did we get all this Stuff?!”
As we packed up our sweet little house in the mountains, I had an encouraging thought. In our Final Move, the very last Departure, we won’t pack a thing. Nothing will need to be wrapped up, squeezed in, taped up, or lifted. It will all mold, rust, decay, deteriorate, break, be turned into new Stuff, and not give a thought to it’s previous owner.
Jesus says that my life is a vapor and my Stuff is dust.
Depressing.
Unless... I can use the fading moments left in my life to invest in true Treasure. My Creator. His People. His kingdom...
