I do not consider myself a very materialistic person. I have hand-me-down furniture, am a saver, not a spender, and think I saw my cell phone displayed at the Smithsonian last week. But something seems to have come over me in the last few days as we prepare to move to Korea. You see, we are only allotted 50% of our household goods on this overseas tour…that amounts to about 7000 lbs. The remainder of our household goods must be placed in non-temporary storage until we come back to the U.S. in 2 years. As you can imagine, I have been making list upon list of items I think we should take, items we should store, and items we should just purge. It has been a somewhat painful process as I tend to analyze and re-analyze every detail. Which Christmas decorations should I take (Scott did put his foot down that I could not use our weight allowance solely for Christmas decor.) ? Should I take my China place settings that we got for our wedding that we use 3 times a year? What about puzzles and games for ladies who might bring their little ones to our house?
Last week, the movers finally came to load up everything going to Korea, and just yesterday, the rest of our belongings were boxed up to be put on the truck today for long-term storage. After they left, I went for a run, and the war began. Thoughts raged in my mind. “I am finished with all of this. I know it is just stuff, but it’s still mine! And I want it with me! People that I don’t even know are touching my things, my memories. Will they take care of them? Do they even realize how difficult this is? For crying out loud, I don’t even know where the storage facility is located other than somewhere in Georgia, and that’s not even the state I’m living in right now!” On and on, with every footfall on the roadway, I kept thinking and talking and praying, trying to pour out my honest feelings before the Lord, knowing full well that it wasn’t only about my things but about the stress, the fear, the worry of what lay before me for the next 2 years.
My final prayer to Him was this: “Lord, this is all just stuff, and I want to be obedient. I know that obedience is better than sacrifice, and I truly want to obey. I just don’t want obedience to always feel like such a sacrifice.” And then I was quiet. And I felt as if Jesus Christ, himself, through the Holy Spirit, said to my heart, “I know exactly what you mean.”
Rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! Philippians 2:7
He gave up everything to become flesh, to dwell among us so that by His sacrifice and His grace, we are saved. Those words hidden in my heart bring peace and perspective.
Today, when the movers come to take the final load, I will remember that my heart is not with the treasures that are being stored somewhere in Georgia. Rather, my heart and my treasure are with Jesus, the Son of God who came as a babe for me and for you.
Choosing Life 
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