Travel Light: Letting Go of Stuff

My wife is a master accumulator. If she was a cloud, she’d be an accumulate nimbus. (Ok, bad dad joke.)

She’s done better and we are definitely working on it. But just when I think we’ve cleaned something out, reduced some clutter, emptied ourselves of excess, three more bags show up.

Any accumulators out there?

As we kick off advent, we’re going to look at some key players and components of the Christmas story in scripture, practice letting go of things that we tend to accumulate and likely hold us back from experiencing the victorious life found in Jesus Christ, and learn what it’s like to Travel Light.

In this first week we will take a look at the parents of Jesus, Joseph and Mary.

Joseph let go of STUFF - consider these things that he had to release:

plans

hometown

reputation

earthly security

I have taught my boys in ALL their sports and lots of other things. I have coached them all in at least something and worked on skills in father-son time in everything. But this year, I’ve had a new experience with our oldest. AJ wanted to play lacrosse. I know NOTHING of this sport and I am somewhat useless when it comes to giving him some extra help and personalized coaching. He’s excelled far beyond me even with his stick and ball skills and it’s probably like how I felt when my mom wanted to play catch with the football with me! YIKES!

This is probably similar to how Joseph felt as Jesus didn’t pursue the family business.

I’ve watched my mom in the passing of her parents and the distribution of their belongings find treasure after treasure - pink lady dishes, guns, cookie tins, a fox fur coat grandpa had made from foxes he trapped. And it has been educational as well as moving to watch the tension in the separation of stuff and sentiment. Still trying to sell the dishes (if anyone is into those things) and dispersing things between siblings there has been a struggle of holding on and letting go.

This is what Mary must have been through as she said, “May it be to me as you have said,” when the angel visited her and she accepted the role and all it entailed to mother this child.

After the shepherds visited this new family, turning the delivery room into a worship center, praising God and telling about the visit from the angels, Mary found herself in a state of release. “Mary TREASURED all these things in her heart.”

I wonder what the past 9 months did in her mind, how she wrestled with doubt, struggled with insecurity, dealt with public shame and gossip. It wouldn’t be out of the question for her to have second thoughts, think about her life before, playing the would’ve/could’ve game.

But both her and Joseph, found them in a state of letting go of the stuff of this world and clinging to the full life found in Jesus Christ, trusting God.

I invite you to do the same.

Better is one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6

Fear and Sentiment are 2 main factors that often cause people to hang on too tightly to things. While both have legit emotions and very real power, neither carry any weight in hope.

Here are 3 Practical bits of advice to divorce our stuff:

1. THROW OUT

2. BUY LESS

3. GIVE MORE

Never know what idols we have until God says to give them up!!!