Our priorities have become completely re-oriented. If I have forgotten I even owned it, why keep it now? If we haven't used it in the last thirty years, what makes us think we will use it when we don't have even close to thirty years left? So we will live much leaner lives from now on, I think. We know what we need and it isn't really very much.
The last time this kind of thinking happened, Keith had come within a literal half inch of dying. No one could believe he was still alive and everyone finds the story nearly impossible to believe when he tells it now. Do you know how quickly our priorities changed then? Suddenly, it wasn't about things at all, nor anyone else's opinion of us, nor even dreams for the future. We had nearly lost that future and all we really cared about was having one of any kind at all. Nothing much irritated us or bothered us. We walked around our property, enjoying the birds and the flowers and the trees. We breathed deeply the jasmine-scented air and thought it the best aroma we had ever smelled. We prayed deeper, stronger prayers, not just of thanksgiving, but prayers for more time to serve God and our brethren. Suddenly we knew what mattered like we never had before.
And preparing for this move has brought us the same clarity. The memories of this place will always be special. This is where we brought up our boys. This is where we learned to trust God implicitly because of all the hurdles this ground put in front of us. And this is where we grew stronger than we would have in an easy place. But it's just a place, a time in our lives that is now gone. A new phase begins and we pray that we will learn more from it, and that we will have time to serve others whom we may never even have met yet.
Check your priorities before it's too late. What really matters to you? Is it all the "stuff" of life, or is it what you do with your life, no matter where you live it? Put the "stuff" aside in your heart, if not in your home, and concentrate on living a spiritual life, a servant's life, a humble life of trust in the God who will never forsake you, the God who will ultimately give you a home better than any you could even imagine. After all, this world is not my home, and it was never meant to be.
And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you (Ps 9:10).
Dene Ward