My son and I just returned from a wonderful road trip to Tennessee. We drove down and back, having some great adventures along the way – going to the top of the Empire State Building, walking the familiar (to me) sidewalks of Princeton Theological Seminary, going down into a cave in the hills of Tennessee, visiting the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, and spending the week in a dormitory at Maryville College.
At Maryville, while I was working during the day – leading music for 500 middle schoolers – my son got to hang out with his grandparents. My parents drove over from North Carolina and Amy’s dad drove up from Georgia. It is rare that we will drive down from New Hampshire and/or that the grandparents will drive up from where they live, so this was a perfect time for my father-in-law to fill his car with a load of stuff from Amy’s childhood and youth to transfer it to my car so that it could be transported back up to New Hampshire.
When my father-in-law showed me all of Amy’s stuff that was in the back of his car, I must admit that my eyes bulged a little bit. How on earth would we fit all of Amy’s stuff from Georgia, along with three guitars, an amp, our luggage, a crate of songbooks, and some other stuff? My father-in-law said he’d take care of packing it.
And so, I gave him my car keys and let him get to it. . . And, by the end of the day, we had a large dollhouse, a set of Christmas china, glasses and bowls, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Amy’s uniform from volunteering at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and some other things from Amy’s marching band days. . . And, miraculously, there was still room for the guitars and all the other stuff. Thank goodness the car was big enough for all of it!
I know, I know, I know. . . too much stuff is not a good thing. In fact, trying to fill our lives with “things” will often end up leaving us feeling more empty than full.
At the same time, some of these “things” we brought back to New Hampshire in my car have some very special memories attached to them – a connection to people who are now gone and experiences that were life-changing and special. In touching and remembering this old stuff, there can be something Holy at work.
One of the tasks of our spiritual lives is seeking a life of balance when it comes to all of our stuff (material and otherwise) and leaving plenty of space for the Holy Spirit in our hearts, minds, and souls.
I admit that looking at our loaded-down car on the return trip to New Hampshire, it didn’t look like there was a whole lot of room for the Spirit. Thankfully, the Spirit doesn’t take up as much physical space as it does spiritual space, and it is the Spirit that connects us to the people, places, and sometimes memories and things that resonate with us and help us experience the Holy in a deeper way.
Whether you are in the process of purging your kids’ stuff from years ago or rediscovering some long-lost treasure in the attic or finding joy in getting rid of the things that are no longer giving you joy (a la Marie Kondo), I hope that you are doing all of this with a heart and mind that are open to the leading of the Spirit.
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Week: Working Together for Good (Words to Live By)
Read Psalm 103
Read Romans 8:26-30
Read or sing Hymn # 30 – “O God, In a Mysterious Way”