Letting Go of the American Dream

Yesterday we staged the boxes that will be shipped to Lyon. We had a goal of getting everything on one pallet. I measured and marked off a 4x4 space with masking tape, and Greg piled boxes on top of one another inside the space, making sure to stay under the four-foot height limit. Fortunately, we were able to fit everything in, with a few inches to spare.  It's really odd to see all of our worldly possessions crammed into such a small space. The other day it really hit me how much our ties to the American Dream have unraveled. We no longer own a house. We no longer own a car. We have a bit of savings, but not enough to withstand a long crisis. When I added up everything for the shipping company's inventory list, the replacement value of our possessions came out to just a couple of thousand dollars.

In a way, it's scary to see how low our net worth is. But on the other hand, it's amazing to think about the freedom this provides us. We could conceivably pick up and go anywhere on a moment's notice. Honestly, just a few suitcases would suffice: 95% of the items on the shipping pallet are wants, not needs, and could easily be replaced (although I do have a few priceless mementos that would be sorely missed).

We didn't get to this point overnight, though. It's taken two years of whittling our possessions away, little by little. First, we went from two cars down to one. Then came the Big Purge. We sold our house last June, and the three weeks between the contract and the closing was a nonstop flurry of garage sales, Craig's list sales, and donations to charity. We rid ourselves of furniture, appliances, clothes, toys, lawn equipment...you name it. Despite our best efforts to weed out the majority of our things, we still drove a small U-Haul to our furnished rental house. We lived there for about a year, and during that time we acquired a few more things. So this weekend we had Big Purge 2: the Sequel. Like most sequels, there's not much new to the story: another yard sale, and more things to haul to Goodwill. But now, hallelujah, everything else will fit on a 4x4x4 pallet and a few suitcases.

As long as it's taken to get rid of our physical possessions, it's also taken at least that long mentally to come to grips with letting go of the safety net of material things in order to follow God's call on our lives. Things often do really do get in the way of following God. So does money. Jesus said that it's so difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God that it's more likely that a camel could fit through the eye of a needle. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Anything is possible with God. Jesus gives us the answer in his famous sermon on the mount. Don't store your treasure on earth, where moths and rust can destroy, or where thieves can break in and steal. Instead, store your treasure in Heaven. Seek first the Kingdom of God, and he will meet your true needs as well. I guess for us, the biggest lesson in all this was realizing what our true needs are. We need shelter. We need food. We need clothing. We'll have all those things in France, or wherever else God chooses to send us. What a blessing that he gives us even more!