Collections

We spend too many years of our lives collecting things. We have some interesting collections, and then we have a lot of things that are just stuff. It is too easy to accumulate stuff when you are in the same house for almost thirty eight years. We come into this world without anything and we can't take it with us when we leave. I know that people who have to move a lot try to keep things thinned out, keeping things to a minimum.

Paul is going through all his boxes as he does from time to time. He is trying to cut his accumulation in half. I don't know if this is possible but he is trying. He is more organized than me. I go through things but never get to the bottom of it all. We have things from our fiftysix years together and all the things we still have of our parents households. Some are nice things and some are just sentimental pieces of trivia.

I occasionally fill bags or boxes for AMVETS or some other group and hope that will eventually make a dent in what I need to do. I filled two large bags and gave them to AMVETS last week. But most of what I need to do would not qualify for giving to someone. I'm in the middle of cutting up a lot of cards to make new cards. This is a fun way to go through my things. I can't just throw them away. Other people have the same problem and I get some of their cards to cut up too. It is fun to be creative. But I don't need any more cards to cut up.

Paul and I each have collections that are fun to look at. He is going through some of his collections and is surprised at how much he has. He is in his second childhood with his toy collections. He has cars, tractors, trucks and motorcycles in miniature. He has not bought any new toys in quite some time as he has more than enough already. He has one room that looks like a museum.

I used to have a room to store my extra toys, knick knacks and papers too. But I gave that room to Laura, although I still have some things in there. At this time I have overflow in our bedroom. Someday I'll finish organizing it. I hope so as I don't want my children to get stuck with as much as I did when my mother went to be with the Lord. She was not able to take it with her when she died, and the same will be true for all of us. We get so caught up in all of our stuff and we will not be taking it with us to heaven. God has better plans for us.

In the meantime it is fun to have a few toys and pretty things to enjoy here on earth. But moth and rust can corrupt, and thieves can break in and steal. We need to set our sights on the Lord. We need to share our love of the Lord with those people we care about, and pray for them to turn their hearts to the Lord. The only thing we can take with us when we go is our loved ones that know the Lord.

I pray for each one I love, all my family and friends, to know the peace of God and to be saved. I want to spend eternity with these loved ones.

Photo credit: blakewest