This morning I was talking with my mom on the phone and she told me of a dream she had last night. She was doing a yard sale of all her clothes and all her shoes. She was looking at all her stuff and wondered how she was going to sell all those things when a lady came to the house, gathered all the items and said she would pay $5 for each of the clothes and $3 for each pair of shoes. She paid for it all and left with everything. My mom didn't have to worry about it one bit. As my mom shared her dream, we talked about our attachment to things on this earth. We talked about the hours spent at stores looking at stuff just to find a good deal, or see if we found something we liked. So much time and money is spent on things we can’t take with us once we leave this world. Yet we are bombarded daily with the thought that we should buy more, more, and more. Just a little bit ago I checked my email and had a message from a store advertising a preview for their Christmas items. It’s still July!!!As we talked, it became more and more evident to me that my mom has lost interest in the things and cares of this life. She shared her thoughts on Jesus, how she loves the sound of water, and how important it is to spend time in nature and with the people we love. Her mind and heart are in Heaven. She’s ready to rest from it all, from all the suffering from the past several months, close her eyes and sleep until Jesus wakes her up to take her home. When our eyes are on Jesus, all the things of earth loose their interest. This is not our home.
She’s right. When it comes down to what truly matters, things are definitely not it. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the end of our journey on this earth and look back with regret that we didn’t have more stuff. Or that we didn’t fill our schedules with even more things to do.
After we hung up, I took a hard look at my life, the things I own, my schedule, and how I’m using my God given time. Even though for the past four years I’ve been on a journey to simplify my life in several areas, there is still room for improvement. After a few hours busy with my daily activities, I remembered that I hadn’t spend time outside enjoying my backyard in a long time. I’ve been too busy with the things inside. So I grabbed my supper, came outside, and enjoyed vegetable soup, homemade bread, and a scrumptious dessert of fresh figs while listening to the wind play through the leaves of the trees and the little birds getting food from the feeders. Then I grabbed my computer and decided to write what I had learned today.
What a blessing my mom is even in her darkest hour. When I told her I shared her love for the sound of water, she said that everytime I hear it, I can remember that she loves it too. I don't think I can ever forget it. Thank you mamã for teaching me what is truly important in life.
"Do not be anxious about
your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your
body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body
more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:25-33
