Got Stuff??
Collecting things seems to be a family trait. I am guessing that we are not alone since there is a whole television show dedicated to Hoarders - those people that collect things. I don't quite understand the need or the desire that drives people to collect things, I just know it exists and is very common and that I happen to be in it's mighty grip.
For some people clothing is the culprit. They have so many clothes they could cloth all the women in a female college dorm. I know a family that was helping their grandmother move. They all got together to help clean out the apartment in order to prepare and minimize the amount of stuff that was going to be moved to a much smaller location. As my friend shared her story I couldn't help but think of my own grandmother and what my mom found when she cleaned out Grandma's apartment - a dozen brand new bras - tags still on. And slippers... whoa!! I mean really, we each only have 2 feet, why would a person need so many pairs of slippers???
As a kid, I lived in the Chicago area. The houses in my neighborhood had an alley behind them that separated one block from another. This is where our garbage cans were for pick up. Along with the garbage cans, people would also put out anything they no longer wanted or needed. If it was still there on trash day, the garbage man would put it in his truck. BUT, if my little brother got there first, it usually ended up in our basement. One time, when my brother was about 8 or 9 he came home all proud of himself with a whole bushel basket of used plastic bathroom wall tiles - as I recall, they were pink and gray. EEEWWW!!! "But they're good tiles," he said. Another time, he was walking home from school and he saw a perfectly good car antennae on the ground in front of a neighbors house. He ran all the way home so happy with his latest find. A little while later my mom figured out our neighbor was replacing his car antennae and had just gone into his house to get something for a quick minute right at the time my brother was walking by. An honest mistake! Beware of the local trash picker/collector - he never misses a good treasure.
My weakness is kid stuff. One year for Christmas when my husband asked me what I wanted I told him I wanted a shed for all my kid stuff. I got 2 sheds from Santa and filled 'em both. Right now the kid stuff has overflowed to the garage, the master bedroom, the TV room closet, one bedroom closet and my office floor. Kid stuff?? What the heck is kid stuff you might ask. Well, I taught preschool for 7 years and have been involved in Children's Ministry at local churches for over 40 years. And over the years I have collected all kinds of supplies and well -- kid stuff. By kid stuff I mean, curriculum, games, puzzles, manipulatives, construction paper, glue, paint, toys, stickers, foam shapes, bulletin board materials, learning worksheets and on and on. Seriously, I have 30 boxes of kids books. And that doesn't count the ones that are on the little 3 shelf bookcase. I have a box that is 28" x 14" x 12" filled with foam shapes - you want hearts, I got foam hearts. You want yellow stars, I got yellow foam stars. You want letters, I got foam letters. How big do you want them? You name it, I got it. When my husband asks me for the tape, I have to ask, what color? what kind? and in what kind of dispenser? A couple years ago, I took a preschool music class and the teacher had us making flannel pieces to go with the songs we would be teaching our preschool children.. She asked us all to bring in any felt we had and any scissors so we could share and folks didn't have to go out an buy stuff. Well, wasn't she surprised when I rolled my luggage cart in with two 18 gallon size tubs filled with felt and a bag of 30 pairs of adult scissors. I kid you not!!! I am a sick woman, I tell ya!!
And don't even get me (or worse - my husband) started on Pringles Canisters...they are good for so many things, how can a person in good conscience throw one out? Having all this stuff is great in many ways. If someone or I need something for a project like pipe cleaners, or beads or stretchy string, I have it. So I can actually save money by not having to buy anything and I can help people by providing what they need. A couple years ago, a friend needed butter or cottage cheese tubs for her VBS. I had like 70 of them. SCORE!!! What a blessing for her. And in that case, I knew right where to find them in the garage. It's not always that easy to find stuff in there though.
My sheds are organized. I have assigned each of the 120 tubs a number and I have a very precise list of what is in each tub and I know where that list is. Good thing! When I need pipe cleaners I know I can go to tub #85 and find pipe cleaners. The dilemma is when I am looking for something not in the sheds. There are just too many places to look because the "stuff" is everywhere. This causes a lot of frustration and wasted time searching for things. So often, I wish, wish, wish, I had the strength and courage I needed to just get rid of things. But you and I both know, as soon as I do.......I or someone else will need it.
I am wondering if God says anything about being a collector. I haven't found anything in His Word yet that addresses this issue. Though He does say not to make anything in our lives more important than Him, my stuff isn't more important to me than Him. I just have it. A lot of it!! And I count it a blessing of provision from my heavenly Father.
So, if you are ever looking for "kid stuff". You know who to call. And it's not Ghostbusters! I am always happy to share and God does say something about that.
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:32
"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." 2 Corinthians 9: 11, 12
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