Just one more...

Okay, I lied, sorry. I have one more thing to share. I have been praying that God would help me loosen my reigns on "my stuff" as I'm preparing to leave for Greece, and God has definitely brought several challenging "helps" my way. I'll share just a few...

...starting with a great conversation with a friend that reminded me that "my stuff" really isn't "mine" at all. It's a gift and a trust from God to use whatever I have to glorify him. Having lived out of a suitcase for the last four months, he also reminded me how freeing it is to manage less stuff and realize how little you really need. It reminded me of my similar thoughts and experiences living out of a suitcase last summer. :)

And then there was reading the blog of a missionary couple I met for a few brief minutes when I was in Thailand last August... They are getting ready to fly to their new mission field and have to limit their "stuff" to 33 lbs per suitcase... and the way she blogged about this experience definitely resonates with my experiences right now as I'm sorting through stuff in my room:
We have been getting things done and going through our stuff and I'm shocked that I'm finding so much stuff that I just can not part with. I found a folder of Josiah's art since he was old enough to hold a crayon...and there are some serious master pieces in there! I found a book of notes that John and I had written to each other while we were dating...I found an old sketch book of John's that he's kept since he was 14...and so many other things.I could go on and on. The insane thing is that our luggage is already over weight!!! The airline...AIR ASIA....are quite simply crooks...ok so maybe that's a little too strong. But that sure is how it feels. They only allow 15kg per person which is 33 pounds. It's known as a trap...because usually if you pack LIGHT...ONE suitcase weighs 33 pounds. And you are allowed 2 suitcases....so you almost always end up paying for a whole bag per kg. Imagine moving...all that you have...and having to choose only 33 pounds worth of stuff...It's INSANE! Yesterday I was sifting through stuff and I just had to keep saying out loud..."all for you Jesus"...and at times I would say "it's just stuff...it's all gonna burn eventually anyway... right?".... ugg.... I believe we're just going to have to pack up some boxes and leave them here in Thailand and when we have the money...send for them. That's our best bet right now... It's a good thing to experience...I think. It would be great for everyone to have to let go of STUFF...all of it...except for what you can fit in a suitcase...it's HARD but freeing.

Also, if you look ahead a couple of posts, the passage in Acts 20 about Paul leaving for Jerusalem reminded me of the importance of giving versus having...

AND THEN, finally, the real kicker that booted me hard...another page in the Revolution in World Missions book:
Economist Robert Heilbroner describes the luxuries a typical American family would have to surrender if they lived among the 1 billion hungry people in the Two-Thirds World:
We begin by invading the house of our imaginary American family to strip it of its furniture. Everything goes: beds, chairs, tables, television sets, lamps. We will leave the family with a few old blankets, a kitchen table, a wooden chair. Along with the bureaus go the clothes. Each member of the family may keep in his wardrobe his oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. We will permit a pair of shoes for the head of the family, but none for the wife or children.
We move to the kitchen. The appliances have already been taken out, so we turn to the cupboards... The box of matches may stay, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt. A few moldy potatoes, already in the garbage can, must be rescued, for they will provide much of tonight's meal. We will leave a handful of onions and a dish of dried beans. All the rest we take away: the meat, the fresh vegetables, the canned goods, the crackers, the candy.
Now we have stripped the house: the bathroom has been dismantled, the running water shut off, the electric wires taken out. Next we take away the house. The family can move to the tool shed...Communications must go next. No more newspapers, magazines, books - not that they are missed, since we must take away our family's literacy as well. Instead, in our shantytown we will allow one radio...
Now government services must go next. No more postmen, no more firemen. There is a school, but it is three miles away and consists of two classrooms... There are, of course, no hospitals or doctors nerby. The nearst clinic is ten miles away and is tended by a midwife. It can be reached by bicycle, provided the family has a bicycle, which is unlikely...
Finally, money. We will allow our family a cash hoard of five dollars. This will prevent our breadwinner from experiencing the tragedy of an Iranian peasant who went blid because he could not raise the $3.94 which he mistakenly thought he needed to receive admission to a hospital where he could have been cured.
This is an accurate description of the lifestyle and world from which I [evangelist, K.P. Yohannan] came. From the moment I touched foot on American soil, I walked in an unbelieving daze. How can two so different economies coexist simultaneously on the earth?"

Maybe more people should read this as they're worried about the "bad economy" situation in our country right now...