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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7 comments:
What a sweet story! Now you've saved the memory in your blog so even though you no longer have the purse you have the memory written down to be saved and treasured years later when you read through!
I watched part of an episode of Hoarding: Buried alive recently and my first reaction was one of shock. Then I began to realize as I looked around our house that as Americans we all have a touch of hoarding. We have so much in our country and it's so easy to buy things that we seldom stop to think about it. But, it really is materialism. We've tried becoming more aware of this and recently my girls got rid of 7 garbage bags full of stuff from their room. Not Coach bags, but stuff none-the-less. They've inspired me to lighten my load, too. Good post and good luck on raising the money for your adoption. The tax credit the following year will help, too.
I LOVE that verse. Though we are not in the process of adopting, I do long to simplify our lives ~ starting with eliminating "stuff". And I agree, all of my material treasures are special because of a memory. Do I have 4 pairs of slippers? Yes, I do, because three of the four I had gotten before each of the births of our three children. Those slippers are a memory of welcoming another precious child into our family. In my mind they are just slippers {get rid of 'em already, Liz!}, but in my heart, they are a treasured memory. I get it.
Tiffany, I love your post!!! I'm sooo excited that Kristen is helping you & other adoption families with their adoption fundraiers!! Come by my blog on Monday and you can add a Linky Thumbnail to promote your projects!!!
We are all in this together!!
I'm a big Hoarders watcher and it's made me even more want to part with my junk. But simetimes things are a tad sentimental..
Good post and good luck on raising the money for your adoption.
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I can totally relate to feeling like I am going to lose the memory because I am parting with the thing. With our impending move to a much smaller place, I have 10 people's worth of stuff to go through and get rid of.
I fight against myself and my mind everyday, right now. Putting something in the toss pile and then panicking because it means "so much"... Yikes!
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