stuff, literally ....

Those first few months just after we moved here in late '08 were not easy ones. After a brief warm & sunny welcome period the weather changed drastically to very cold, bitter & uninviting. We all got sick during that time and I was so thankful for people helping us out because at times it was downright miserable. The glimmer of hope I had rested in the excitement & anticipation of our shipment from the US arriving with our things from home. After many delays, it finally arrived 2 months after we did. But that didn't matter because it was like an early Christmas & we were all excited. Then a funny thing happened.

As we began unpacking the boxes, instead of the sense of comfort & familiarity I was thinking they would bring, a huge pit began to develop in my stomach. Our helper was working with us and even though she has worked for foreigners before, I could tell she was amazed at the sheer volume of things we had (and probably was also questioning why we thought we needed all of this). The unpacking took a few days. And as the hours of sorting, organizing, storing wore on, her comments of "so much, so much" morphed into just laughing & shaking her head. And what didn't seem like enough on the US side, now looked overwhelming, exorbitant and yes, even very much comical.

And that is when my eyes were first opened to not only the dawn of new lifestyle, but to how we had grown to live back in the states. Weekly trips to Costco & Target were not uncommon. This resulted in not only unfruitful busyness but the accumulation of random extra stuff that looked so important & useful in the store. Here, excess is a new concept. Unfortunately it is beginning to infect the younger generation and nouveau riche. But historically, especially in the last 60 years, most Chinese have not had enough to eat, let alone the means to amass non-necessities. Most still live in (what we would consider) humble homes or apartments. Although there is a much better standard of living as of recent days, most still only buy what they need. And, believe it or not, they're surviving.

So this is something I have by no means mastered yet, but a lesson that I am very consciously trying to learn. Simplicity does not equal deprivation. In fact, as I'm beginning to realize, it breeds something quite the opposite & something I very much desire - freedom. When our space is clear, my mind is clear & this frees me up to look beyond the trappings of this world and engage in the deep things of the Lord. And although I live in time & space and need to reign over the daily necessities, they don't need to reign over me.