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“a
time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.”
Ecclesiastes 3:6 (NIV)
I find this verse haunting, at least the first section.
There are times we lose something precious to us; we search for it until we have
looked everywhere. Then we stop, realizing we cannot find it. However, somehow,
a while later, we spot it just out of reach from one of the places we looked.
However, when we hear of a plane going down, we hear of a
search team looking to rescue those who have survived. Yet, after a given time,
that team’s objective becomes to recover those people who did not make it, if
possible.
The second part of this passage speaks of keeping things
and throwing away things that are no longer useful to us. As an American, I
have to say that I am guilty of hanging onto “things.” One of my closest
friends often laments of “having too much ‘stuff.’”
Solomon tells us there is a time to shed ourselves of
things we no longer need, use, or wear. In our 21st Century America, I see
people either having things to the point of being engulfed in them or choosing
to live the “less is more” philosophy. I know what I need to do but, in the
past, I have found a new home for something and, then had need of that very
same item.
I remember a neighbor who was getting ready to move. This
single man had the bed of his pick-up truck filled to overflowing with things
he no longer needed or wanted, stuff from his house.
Father God, please help us.
The very topic I taught on in kids' church yesterday, Cecelia: that we need to put God first, and not be greedy.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a hard topic to discuss. We have to break the cycle of "me first" and ask God what He wants us to do. A friend of mine has a daughter whose husband has been through chemo and radiation for a rare form of cancer. Now that son-in-law's mother is in ICU and he and his siblings have to act on the decision they had to make. Please pray for David and Ginger.
DeleteI think we attach memories to items, which makes it hard to part with them. A friend suggested taking a picture and then either donating or throwing it away. The memory is then preserved.
ReplyDeleteSusan:You are the second person to share the picture taking idea. A friend of mine told a group of us about it. Thank you.
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