Just Enough

“The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” a book written by Marie Kondo sold millions of copies around the world. The popularity of her book also spawned a series on Netflix. Ms. Kondo developed a method to help people get their lives back in order after they have acquired way too many material possessions. I call this show on Netflix “Hoarders Light  designed for Millenials.”

In this Netflix series we see people’s uncurated collections of clothes, books, magazines, and other personal items which have taken over their lives. Instead of bringing happiness the owners are frustrated and overwhelmed by all their stuff. Marie uses her KonMari method based on Shintoism, an Eastern religion, to develop a way to part with items.

Just watching the show caused me to think anew about my propensity to continue to collect things I really didn’t absolutely need. I thought back on my own experience when I sold my Seattle home. I had to reckon with my brain on so many levels. I had things I would probably never use again in life. I knew it was time to let go. However I had to be stern, steadfast and  even brutal with my heart to part with many things.

I’ve asked myself why did I wear myself out to accumulate so many material possessions? I can tell by the closets in older homes that people didn’t always feel that they had to have closets the size of some people’s living rooms. Over consumption is a problem, at least here in the United States. The explosive growth of the storage facilities industry is a testament to this problem.  To be transparent I downsized from a 4,500 square foot home to a  5X10 storage room.
I didn’t get depressed I got free!

Over my life’s journey I’ve learned:

It didn’t matter how many homes I may have owned.
I could only occupy one house at a time.

It didn’t matter how big my house was.
I could only be in one room at a time.

It didn’t matter how many vehichles I had in my garage.
I could only drive one at a time.

It didn’t matter how many shoes were in my closet.
I could only wear one pair at a time.

It didn’t  matter how much food I had in my refrigerator.
I could only eat so much at a time.

Solomon made a simple request to God, “..Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.”1.  I am wondering if this isn’t the key to happiness  and another way, if I may borrow from Marie Kondo, “to spark joy.”

Parting Thought

I want to be more like the Apostle Paul who said, “Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” 2.

1. Proverbs 30:4    NIV
2. Philippians 4:11 Message Bible

Still My Prayer in 2019

Dear God,

May I have a life of devotion, 

not just a time of devotion.

May my life be consecrated, 
not just a time of consecration

May I have a Sabbath heart, 
 not just a Sabbath Day.

May all my resources be at your disposal,
 not just a tithe.

May all my time be sacred, 
not just a time for God.

May I have a worshipping heart, 
not just a time of worship.

May I walk in the light of Your love consistently,
 not just in my dark times.

Help me to endure my dry spells, 
for I do not have a dry life.

Remind me that you are always in control no matter what may rage around me during this enduring walk of faith.

"Begin with the End in Mind" Happy New Year!

A few weeks ago I was on my way to my brother and sister-in-law's house to meet them. We were going to ride together to church in New Jersey. I turned off the main thoroughfare of Stenton Avenue on to Ivy Hill Road. The road comes to a T where one has to make a left or right turn. What makes it necessary to go left or right is the immense Ivy Hill  cemetery. As I was waiting at the red light I looked at the row of headstones and the stately mausoleums.  The thought came to me that at the end of everyone's earthly road this is what awaits us. We will all have a face to face meeting with death. However it is while we are alive that we make the decision on which direction to go when we meet eternity.

It was a sobering thought.  I pass these silent sentinels, witnesses of my mortality frequently in Philadelphia. This is an old city. Graveyards are ubiquitous. They remind  us that our earthly journeys are short compared to going to our long homes which are forever. Yet some of us spend more time contemplating what we are going to wear or what we are going to eat than our eternal destination.

Yesterday my heart was deeply saddened to see the news report of three young people, two of whom had just finished participating in Philadelphia's 2019 colorful Mummers' Day Parade.   On their way home they were tragically and instantly killed in a car accident when another driver crossed the line and hit their sports vehicle.  Twenty six hours into the New Year they were immediately gone.

I am thinking of the late Stephen Covey's book,  The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. The first habit is to "Begin with the End in Mind"  This is January, traditionally a time for new beginnings. I can begin again with the "..End in Mind." My question to you and to myself is, "Am I sure that I know what the next step is when I face that end of life's road"  I feel certain I can answer in the affirmative. Can You?

 ".. people are destined to die once,.."

Hebrews 9:27

P.S. If you would like to know my plans you can ask in the comments section of this blog or contact me at panewton12@comcast.net