Actually when I really sit here and ponder it, it is not my stuff that I am so much attached to, it is the memories that go along with that stuff. I am nostalgic and sensitive. Not a very good combination when trying to weed through stuff. In an effort to scrape together money for our adoption - we're not just asking people to give money or support our fundraisers and then sitting back and taking it easy - we are downsizing our stuff as one way to raise money.
This morning I had to do something very hard. I had to put my beloved COACH collection up on ebay. Well truthfully I had to take the photos, write the descriptions, and then let my sister put it up in her store on ebay. (Thanks Cass!) I did save one small bag that I am using, but it is not completely safe. If we need the money, I will sell it. As I took photos and wrote descriptions I got a sick feeling in my stomach.
Come on Tiff. It's just stuff. What is the big deal? I reprimanded myself.
And it is just stuff. But looking over my beautiful leather Hampton COACH bag, I was flooded with memories. Memories of almost three years ago, when we had finished camp for the summer, and had taken a mini family vacation to PA - to Sesame Place. We got lost on the way home, and we ended up in Lancaster. So Jim decided we could spend a few hours at the Outlets. That is one of my favorite things to do!
I will never forget him walking me into the COACH outlet and whispering in my ear pick one.
I felt like a princess. I had never owned a bag so expensive. The bags were gorgeous and smelled of leather. They were soft and supple, and my husband wanted to buy me one. But more than that my husband got me - this man loved and adored me, and got me. He understood what I found lovely. It was a gift I treasured mostly because he treasured me.
My other items that I am selling were not quite so significant as the Hampton bag. They had their memories, but I was able to release my grasp a bit easier. But as I sit here pondering all of this. I am realizing more and more it's just stuff. That's not what I want to fill my life with. I do not want to pack away stuff here on this earth.
I want to have an impact on eternity. I want to adopt a baby from Ethiopia and give him or her a home and a family. That precious life is more important to me than a COACH bag- then stuff.
And with that being said. It's time to dive into my closet once more.
It's just stuff.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ~Matthew 6:19-20
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Addis Ababa Time