Gifts are meant to be enjoyed!

We still haven’t found a place to live yet, but I have been trying to motivate myself to at least go through stuff we’ve accumulated since we came here, get rid of the garbage and unwanted items, and organize the rest so that packing will be easier. This includes going through our storage bins. When we came here, we brought with us items that others had told us either cannot be found here at all or are exorbitantly priced. For example certain spices, pecans, dried fruits, cocoa and chocolate chips. While we can certainly survive without them, they add a sense of “normalcy” to our lives here and make holidays, birthdays, and other days more special. 

In theory, as our 32 months here go by, we would take items from the “stash” as needed, hoping to space it out enough to last the entire term. 

The week since we found out we have to move has caused me to think a lot more about what is worth packing up and hauling around and what is not, what really blesses our family, what ought to be blessing someone else, and what is really just “baggage” that no one ought to be burdened with.

Since coming here 21 months ago, I have noticed something I rarely saw in the states but seems much more common here. Unfortunately, in addition to observing it, I have also been guilty of it myself. Unintentionally, even unconsciously, the “supply cupboard” or “stash” becomes a hoard –  added to enthusiastically whenever someone visits from the U.S. and can bring items in or when someone here is leaving and has a “yard sale.”  Then because we might run out of something, we hesitate to use it or share it, especially if we are running low on something. I would never admit to believing that God has a limited capacity or desire to provide for us and bless us, but I have acted as if I did. 

I find it interesting that while I was pondering this, I found a post that my friend T had recently written about the same issue in  Lessons From My Chocolate Chip Stash.  Because of our travels and busyness I didn’t find her article until today. Her post has some good insights, comparing our stash of supplies to our finances. A smart person plans for the future, but there has to be a balance. Whether it is our chocolate chips, our money, or anything else in our “stash,” it has been given to us by God to be used, shared, and enjoyed. I don’t want to be like the man in Luke 12:13-21 who filled silo upon silo for himself and shared it with no one. I would much rather be like the ravens and the wildflowers in verses 22-34.  I want to take joy in what God has given me, enjoy it, and invest it in the lives of my family and those around me. A wise investment yields good returns, whether in the short term or the long term. Sharing some nuts and cocoa or baking a dessert for someone might not make chocolate chips fall like rain over Kinshasa (imagine!), but there is no way to measure the unseen earnings. The simple items in my stash can be used to encourage someone, to make someone feel valued, to brighten someone’s day or maybe even their future by giving them a little "clin d'oeil", a wink from God, that helps them persevere.