In an emergency
In a book I was reading the other day, the author was faced with a dilemma. They lived in an area with an approaching forest fire and they were faced with the possibility of having to leave suddenly. They had one car that they could fill with their family, but also with just enough ‘stuff’ to start again.
A dramatic start to a post you might think, but the book was about our relationship with stuff. The possibility of having to leave suddenly had bought things into sharp focus for the writer.
What would they pack in the car? What did they really need? Of course food, water and clothes were at the top of the list, but they certainly were not packing their entire wardrobe! They had a car they could fill and that was it. It certainly brought perspective.
It got me thinking, what would I pack? What would feel so important that I had to carry it with me on to a different stage of my life? What would you gather together if you had to prepare for this sort of situation? Does it make some of things that you are holding on to seem excessive? The ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ that could be holding you back?
I know that we are unlikely to face the same forest fire situation living where we do, and thankfully things were ok in the end for the people in the book. However, the question of perspective and what we actually use and need are good ones to explore. Sometimes it’s hard to think about this in terms of all our possessions, so let’s start with one area.
Let’s take our clothes for example. We probably wear 20% of the clothes we have most of the time. There’ll be those items that we hold on to just in case, or because we may get in to them again one day, or they might come back into fashion, but I’m sure there are a lot of items we can just let go of.
Perhaps a mini ‘redeem’ you can think about doing is going through your wardrobe. If you haven’t worn it in the last 12 months, you are unlikely to wear it. If you go to wear an item, but always think twice and put it back, it could be time to say goodbye.
When we start thinning out and paring down, we can really struggle with a sense of ‘What if I’ll need it in the future?’ ‘What if I don’t have all I need?’
In the bible, there are lots of references to times when Jesus provided just what was needed. Whether that be something physical like food or the right word of encouragement. As a christian, I want to grow in trusting that my heavenly Father will provide all that I need and therefore I do not need to worry or make things more of a focus than they need to be.
In Matthew 6 v. 28 Jesus specifically talks about our physical needs. “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin….So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat? or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them……’
This passage shows that He cares about the little and the big in our lives.
So today, trusting that all I need will be provided for, I can let go of the things that might be holding me back. I can be generous, I can give away, I can just be content with what I need and not take comfort or place security in what I own.
I’m not sure that I’m ready to face a forest fire and the need to condense my whole life into one car, but I am trying to daily be on the journey of less. I am asking myself more searching questions when I start feeling as though I need to buy something new.
It’s difficult sometimes to drown out the world’s constant demands to buy, update, renew, but it is possible as we form new habits for ourselves. We can restrict the times we physically go shopping or the times we look online for general browsing escapism. Maybe you can connect with a friend instead, send a message or write a letter(!) Sometimes it’s in doing something else productive that we can break away from the absent-minded scroll.
It is certainly a journey and small steps do make a difference! If you want to chat more about this subject, or would like help with living with less, please drop me an email, I’d love to hear from you!
clair@redeemspaces.co.uk