Time to Simplify . . . Again!

Two years ago during Lent, I embarked on a forty bags in forty days project. The idea, which came from Faith and Family, was to rid one’s house of forty bags of excess material goods – ideally through giving items away, although some items definitely deserve a place in the trash. I’ve decided it’s time to do it again. No, it isn’t Lent and I most likely won’t be able to accomplish my goal in forty days this time, but I desperately need to get rid of things.

While some people seem to be able to maintain well-ordered houses all the time, mine seems to attract clutter the way refrigerators attract magnets (did I mention that I have too many of those as well?). Some of it, I have little control over. After all, I don’t live alone and I need to respect my husband’s and children’s needs and desires as well. I can encourage them to live more simply and to give away what they no longer need, but no matter how much I might want to, I cannot simply bag up all their possessions and bring them to the local thrift shop. Part of loving other people is making the sacrifice of living with their “stuff.”

Still, I can set a good example and reduce what is within my power to do so. Right now, the sheer amount of stuff is weighing me down. Mary Ann Otto writes of a similar problem in “Boxing Day,” featured in the January 2012 issue of U.S. Catholic:

We tend to store things long after they have outlived their usefulness. I am not sure why; perhaps we document our life with them. Maybe letting go of them reminds us of our own mortality, with the realization that we will not be taking a U-Haul with us into the next life.

Jesus warns us against storing up treasures on earth. There is a reason: I find the more I keep unnecessary items, the more difficult it is to be at peace and in solidarity with Christ’s teachings. I am often distracted by clutter, and there is little doubt others could benefit from my surplus possessions.

There is obviously nothing wrong with owning things. We all need some items – things that are necessary for life, as well as things that are simply beautiful and bring us pleasure, and those items which have a strong emotional value. Yet, most of us own many things that don’t fit into any of those categories, items that we don’t use and which could be doing someone else some good. Those are the items I’m seeking to rid my life of.

I want to live a generous life. This is one way to do that, a simple way to share what I have been blessed with. I have never regretted giving something away. I have found that generosity is always rewarded. If I am generous with others, I trust that when the time comes that I need something, others will be generous with me. I have definitely found that to be the case.

I know I will never completely get rid of all the extraneous items in my life. No doubt, a couple years from now, I will once again desperately need to do a major decluttering. It is one of those on-going battles. Letting go of things is not always easy, however, it is necessary, for both my mental and spiritual health. Let the bagging begin!

- Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com

Investing Our Time

Needs. We all have them. Some have the need of transportation, or finances – others have the need of child care. What about those who have no husband or a husband who travels all of the time? They need someone to help them fix things up or help them with yard work. There is the mom who could use someone to fix meals for her once in awhile as she cares for a child with disabilities or the family who has no relatives nearby and just needs friendship and a support system.
 
What are your needs? Do you feel like they are being filled?
 
God tells us in Hebrews 10:24, 25  “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
 
To me that means being there for each other – being there – physically. Giving up of yourselves and your time.  It seems to me that it is so much easier for people these days to say, “I’ll pray for you” than it is for them to actually move to action themselves. It’s easier for them to talk to you and ask how it’s going than it is for them to give up their own valuable time to help in some way. And if there are people giving and making efforts; a lot of times it is for some big “cause.” The church can often make the mistake of looking outward to helping “others” rather than looking inward and helping its own.
 
I’ll give you an example.
 
When we first moved into our house we had A LOT of yard work to do. Living on an acre, we still do.  One day shortly after our move we asked some men and friends in our church to come and help us shovel some rock that we were having delivered. We offered to provide lunch for everyone. We must have invited over 20 men. Two came to help. 
 
We live in an area where the closest family members are five hours away. People who live near family don’t know what this is like. You have no one to count on for childcare, no one to help when you are sick and still have to manage to get your kiddos off to school or make their lunches, no one to help when your husband is out of the country and you are “manning” it up on your own – no one but the friendships you have made. So if those friends are busy with their own lives – that leaves… you guessed it – no one.
 
I’m coming to find out that giving up of your time is more valuable than almost any other resource you can give someone. It is one of the most unselfish, loving things you can do. To be there for those you love.  Make the efforts to invest in others. If someone is in town and it’s not a convenient time for you – so what! Let them come over and show them you value them and the desire they had to see you. If someone is celebrating a holiday all by themselves – invite them over or better yet – drive or go fly to be with them! Give up your time and finances to invest in them.  If someone is having a birthday and they live hundreds of miles away, figure out a way to show him or her how special they are by coming up with something clever that you can do over the miles. I have a friend who had everyone important to another friend of hers take their pictures with a heart and a birthday greeting. She put them all together and featured them on her blog as a birthday surprise for her friend. Now THAT is clever, and loving! Someone else I know flew in his wife’s parents for her birthday!
 
Time. Invest of yourself into others. We’re all busy. But maybe we’re so busy because we’re trying to do everything by ourselves and have no one to help us. Maybe if we all started leaning on each other and investing into each other we’d find things would go a little bit easier in our lives.
 
I’d like people to invest into me and my family a little bit more. I’d like to see my kids invest into others as they grow up. It brings out the richness of life.  Everyone wants to be loved – everyone has needs. What are you doing to help fill those needs in the lives of those around you?
 
~ God has been teaching Dionna how much He values her giving out of what He has given to her. She is the Editor/Founder of Emphasis On Moms – http://www.EmphasisOnMoms.com