Dropping the Baggage
// November 9th, 2010 // 0 Comments // Uncategorized
2010 has been full of ups and downs. I have experienced the wide range of emotions and circumstances from great hurt and the loss of close friendships to the development of new meaningful relationships and the birth of our second son, Tobias.
The whole year has caused me to wonder and pray for what God really wants from me more intensely than ever before. Slowly, but surely, Amy and I have been coming to the same realizations that we can no longer live for the purposes that being Americans typically involve. We don’t want to accumulate more things. We don’t want to spend more money on a house that we utilize only half the space of. We don’t want to spend our time and money on things that don’t matter when life is over. (I am still wanting a 2010 Chevy Camaro, however…)
More than anything, I want my boys to know and live for Jesus. To give Him the glory in everything and to strive to live more and more like Him. The only way that is going to happen is if I do the same…starting now. I can’t chase after any American dream and do this. Amy is at the same place. We are trying to go there together for our family’s sake.
So, we are trying to drastically cut back. Cleaning house. Getting rid of stuff we don’t use or need. (Big garage sale this weekend, by the way) I even helped our oldest, Harrison, who is four years old cut his stash of Hot Wheels cars back by at least 1/3. I think it was a good process for him. And possibly the first step in helping him not want things as a means of satisfying the longings in his heart.
Same goes for Amy and I. We are trying to let go and rearrange our priorities with God’s. I know for a lot of people, this may not make sense. I would love to talk about it. It will help us to have the dialog. But we want to live more simply without the concern for hoarding a huge retirement account or landing in a comfy house. In fact, we may downsize our house!
Pray for us! We need it.
