A Lifetime Collector of Things

JulianaRosePhotography

I will be the first to admit that I am a "collector of things." As a child, I could not bare to see a single reusable item be put in the trash can. Of course what I saw as reusable and what most people would see are two totally different things. I wasn't ahead of my time in being environmentally friendly or an avid recycler. I just knew all of these things could be used to make something else and it would be a waste to simply throw them away. I collected cardboard toilet paper rolls, empty Coke bottles, used paint stirs, anything you can think of, I kept. I would hide them under my bed because I was certain they would come in handy one day. And when that day would come, I would dig them out of their hiding place with an intense sense of pride because they did, in fact, prove useful. Then I would create silly games, special presents or "helpful" gadgets out of my treasures. I considered myself quite the inventor.

Fast forward twenty years later and I'm still collecting "things." I'm an avid collector of other people's junk. Garage sales, flea markets, you name it, I've done it.  And if that's not enough the Target clearance bins call my name every time I enter the store.

"Bethany! Bethany! You NEED me!"

Highly unlikely and yet I succumb to its beckoning more often than I'd like to admit.

But this past year as we added another member to our family and all of the accouterments that come along with having more people in your home, I began to see all of these things for what they really are- things.

The things we work so hard to accumulate were in reality the exact things that were causing me so much stress. 

My house stays a mess, partially because I have three children but mostly because the things I've gathered are more than we need and more than can fit in our home. I had the epiphany- I've done this to myself! I have no one to blame but me.

Something has got to give. I understand that a lifelong habit doesn't change overnight. But as I prayed about what God wanted for me in 2016, one thing I felt Him say was that I needed to invest more in people than things.

So that's my goal. And while I know I'll still enjoy some Saturday morning garage saling and I'm sure I'll browse the clearance bins occasionally, my goal is to focus more on storing up my treasures in Heaven where they matter and less on amassing unnecessary junk that in the end means nothing.