Possessions

Just a few weeks before my dad died, which was last April, we moved his office to his living quarters because it was getting harder and harder for him to get around. My brother continued to office there when dad died...and I had even had a little spot set apart there so that I could help with the estate. My mom had died 13 years before, dad had remarried Wilhelmina and she too died just a few months before dad did.Oh, How I miss them all.... The property is now under contract, to be closed in just a couple of weeks and we (my brother and I) are left to disperse the contents among four siblings And today is our day to do that. We will draw numbers and choose accordingly.

Possessions....we gather them in our lifetime for reasons of purpose, entertainment, style, beauty and sentiment. Then when we are gone..others are left behind to go through and dismantle closet by closet, drawer by drawer, cabinet by cabinet and furniture piece by furniture piece. The process stirs up constant reminders of the life that once was connected to these "things". Dad really had no interest in things....of any kind...not even clothes....he wore what was chosen and given to him. We had cleaned out closets and drawers over the past year so this process was not so daunting physically...but to me it is emotionally. This event marked a clear closing not only of a property but of the final chapter of my parents lives. The items that remained were mostly reminders of mom....for when Dad and Wilhelmina married they moved into a newly built out high rise apartment, dispersing most of her belongings to her family and used most of what was in dad's former home. It was just easier that way! There.and only a few hints of Wilhelmina left at the apt....for her remaining personal belongings too were pulled when she died....to simplify a later process. The later process is now upon us.

I laid in bed last night and this morning flooded with thoughts of childhood....and
memories of growing up...and how we pass along what we have gathered from one generation to the next....and what has been passed along to me. And in thought I reflected that it is not what we pass along in the physical stuff...it is what is handed down through the love and commitment and sacrifice of the relationship shared with the one who no longer abides on this earth. My parents have been carried on to a place of peace and paradise. The "things" remaining are just "things".....they have no true relevance on life. Sure they may be a needed or appreciated addition to a home...and carry great sentiment because they are reminders of someones taste and a place where happy memories were made....but they are all replaceable. Oh but the memories are not! They are what we have and we don't have to make choices and allow good ones to slip away.

I considered Jesus' life on this earth....he was not bound possessions...ever! He had sandals on his feet, garments on his body and he traveled light.
His purpose while he was on this earth was to minister forgiveness, hope, and strength and comfort and most of all love to lost souls....on behalf of his father in Heaven. So why is it if we, who are to be like Jesus, get so tangled up in possessions? Is it greed....or selfishness, or a need to have the best and the most.....or is it the sentiment that drives us to wanting something? Sentiment in the form of a something that is a reminder of someone who through their character and life has challenged us, nurtured us, supported us, helped us to grow and brought great joy to our lives? Jesus taught us that relationships were priority not things....and lived by his example.

"Yet I am always with You,

You hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

And afterward You will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And being with You, I desire nothing on earth.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart

And my portion forever." Ps 73:23-26


When Jesus left this earth...his personal belongings were not the issue....it was His life.....and His death and his resurrection that remained the issue and still that issue remains solid today. I suspect most of you have also had to work through the leftovers of someone who you have been close to. There are things worth keeping, things to toss, things that flood your heart with warmth and things of monetary value that you want to hang on to. But nothing can replace that life that no longer abides on this earth. It is the handed down relationship that holds the true value. Things are just that....things...but it is what is gained from the relationship that is handed down from generation to generation... and I must remember that. And though my relationship with my parents was filled with love and goodness...I must also remember who allowed me the privilege and honor to be the child of these loving parents....it was Jesus.....and that is the relationship that I must stand faithfully secure on...and pass it first down to the generations that follow me....as well as the lessons I learned, and the memories that I hold dear through my parents...and others whom I have loved and who are no longer with me.

Dear Lord, Thank you for being with me as my heart was flooded with memories that tugged terribly on my heart. And thank you for once again putting me on your track and helping me to see things through your perspective. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!


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