Revelation 18

vs 14 ... Everything you've lived for, gone! All delicate and delectable luxury, lost! Not a scrap, not a thread to be found!

We are consumed by the love of things. How often do we rejoice over these bits of plastic, leather and machinery? We measure our successes by how much STUFF we have. I have learned a lot about my STUFF this past year: None of it means a thing. When you strip away everything you've got, you are able to see what really matters.

For the past year, we have lived in extremely humble surroundings. We are part of the ever-growing population of the “semi-homeless”. Hubby, Red, Fluffyhead Diva, Sir Smiley and I are all in one very small motel room. The Princess lives with her father because of our living situation. So many of the standards we have built for ourselves over the years have been redefined over the past year:

Consideration: Then – No longer the thought process of “Now mad will Mom get if I do this to my sibling?” Now – I need to ask who else needs to use the only bathroom if I think I’m going to be in there longer than 10 minutes.

Kindness: Then – Going out of my way to do something nice for someone else. Now – Taking care of my own belongings so someone else doesn’t have to.

Time-out: Then – Stomping off to our rooms and slamming the door to calm down enough to deal with the rest of our loved ones. Now – Sitting quietly with clenched teeth and eyes squeezed shut, praying you aren’t overwhelmed with the need to smack someone.

Neatness: Then – Keeping everything out of the living room and hoping Mom doesn’t look under our beds. Now – The knowledge that one book, one ball and a hair bow in the middle of the floor constitutes as messy clutter and is in everyone’s way.

Cooking: Then – Homemade bread, three-course meals, a pantry full of machines that can do anything, and the ability for all of us to chip in and help. Now – I wonder if there is a possibility to make THAT in the crock pot/electric skillet/microwave? Do you think I can stop by Jane’s house to make a batch of muffins? I don’t care if you have to go to the bathroom, if you want a salad tonight, you need to get out of my way.

There have been times in this past year where I have stood outside our front door, hand on the knob and seized with panic and dread. I can’t stand another minute of it! One more day and I’m going to go stark.raving.mad. But I know that we have all learned a lot, too. Don’t take anything for granted, rely on each other, and patience is more than a virtue – it’s a way of life. Our family has to have God FIRST before anything else. Our faith hasn’t just been a warm fuzzy let’s all go to church together and have family reading time … our foundation in God has been a necessary means of survival.

We have all had a change in perspective, and I am so grateful for it! Don’t get me wrong, I desperately desire my own bed in my own room with the ability to close the door and change my clothes in peace. But now I don’t envision the bed covered with the most luxurious sheets and down comforters. The prayers I will say next to it, the books on the nightstand beside it, the meaningful conversations with Hubby in it … those luxuries are more exquisite and decadent then Egyptian cotton will ever be.