stuff. and more stuff.

I wanted to post this as a comment on another blog - but it grew into it's own post! They were discussing living with less, more simply. Something I've seen in and out of season, as God's led. Everyone's to be content - with little or much - so everyone has to keep it in perspective to their own situations.

So here it is:


We just made our second move with all our belongings stuffed in a 26 ft UHaul and one car. :) It's exciting, and humbling to know that all your stuff fits in a vehicle that small. I know I'm blessed. We left our living room and dining room furniture with our daughter and son in law and grandkids...so that's something that didn't take up space. We sold our home with all of our appliances - but the original move 2 1/2 years ago had included all those things.

We've lived as a family of 5 +1 aunt (and 2 dogs and 2 cats) in a 700 sq ft house when the kids were all little.  Then this year, in helping our oldest and her family prepare for the preparation of going on the mission field into Central America, they all moved in with us - all 6 of them - 3 grandgirls under 5, 1 infant grandson and mom and dad - into our already tight 1300 sq ft 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house.

Both my husband and I grew up living with grandparents at one time or another - and can't remember when our culture changed to "super size" houses....when did everyone need their own on-suite bedroom, and kids couldn't share beds (or closets, clothes, or bathrooms?).

So the funny thing is, that my husband - in the midst of the 560 mile drive we made yesterday (me in the car and he in the UHaul) that we'd leave the UHaul packed until we closed the deal on our house! SO - all my clothes, but one suitcase of capris, t's, tanks and undies - are in the UHaul. Packed. Until we move into the house. :) I have one pair of shoes. A swimsuit. He bought me a little dress to wear over the swimsuit in case I actually wanted to go to the pool in our apt. complex (you aren't allowed to walk around in your swim suit - no matter how conservative it is).

I'm ok. Tonight we walked around a mall, and he tried to drag me into a store I like to shop at. I told him "no", and really mean it! I've got to be prepared to live in seasons of little and lots. I looked at shoes and said "no" too (but somehow, if he offered to buy me a purse I think I'd have said "YES!!"....LOL!!).

Our season of 2 1/2 years in the little house have been a blessing - but we feel God's leading us to open our home more and more for hospitality - to minister to the needs of others, provide rest for ministry and missions partners, and feed into the faith of those that we love that might be struggling. Hard to do in such a small space, so this next house is going to be reasonably larger.

I'll never forget what our younger daughter said years ago as we walked around that 700 square foot house, floors sticky-covered in the leaked propane, needles found in the kitchen cupboards, ceiling so low I could touch it (I'm 5'2"); "I think that any missionary on the field would be happy to call this home!" It put it into perspective. I'm so blessed to have had a child teach me the importance of priority. To not let the world get the best of my joy because I don't live up to THEIR idea of successful. There's so much more to life than "stuff"!!