Lily is now 7 months old.
Joshua and I have recently realized how much we have and how much of it we don't need. We have set out to rid our lives of stuff. Useless meaningless stuff. Stuff that other people could benefit from. There were a few pieces that I wanted to sell, but the majority of it we have decided to donate to people who need it.
It's been a slow process of cleaning out closets and underneath beds, but I've accumulated a lot of stuff and have started to donate some of it. This process has stretched me in so many ways.
I have an emotional attachment to everything I own and I'm slowly realizing that the memories will still remain even if the stuff doesn't...that's why I have a camera, right? There's also this greedy part in my heart that wants to sell it for money so I can go buy MORE stuff. Which defeats the whole process and purpose. So I'm giving it away.
And it feels amazing. It's not to toot my own horn and say "LOOK everyone at what I did...I'm so generous!" It's to say "Look what God can do with what we have that we don't need."
Eventually the sting will fade and I will get used to not having so much stuff around. I wish we lived in a world where our stuff doesn't matter. That it doesn't matter whether our house has granite countertops or wood floors, whether we drive a foreign car or an SUV or whether we take lavish vacations to Europe or the Caribbean.
I want to raise Lillian to live as if her stuff doesn't matter, but her heart does. I want her to live for God's kingdom not work toward earthly possessions. I don't want her to compare what she has with others or one day feel inadequate for not having something someone else does.
So we must simplify our lives now and learn to live with less so that she will also live the same way.
I know a lot of parents who put popularity, looks and possessions first as qualities they want their kids to have.
I want Lily to be above all else...compassionate. Then faithful. Dependable. Trustworthy. Driven. Educated.
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