It's Just Stuff

Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash

​It’s not too often that my 17 year-old son begs me to watch something, then sits beside me on the couch so the two of us can watch a video on his phone.  Although it was not something I wanted to watch - at all - I watched because moments like this are now very rare.  Somehow he has become interested in Hoarders, Buried Alive.  He is fascinated watching how these people live and how their family hurts and suffers through the mental illness, but cannot get them to see the real issues.  “Mom, I know it’s gross, but you gotta listen to the back story.  There’s a reason these people are sick like this.  They are coping.  Mom, watch.”     

If you have not seen the show, concerned family and/or friends of a hoarder reach out to the show for help.  They investigate and determine if it’s show-worthy.  If so, they arrive at the person’s home with cameras and crew to document the condition of the home, record interviews and on-cite counseling with the person, and the resolution of the issue.  Usually family, friends, and professionals will clear and haul away all the stuff that was hoarded.  I don’t like the show because it saddens me.  I’m a bit of a minimalist and seeing all that stuff makes my blood pressure rise.  I yell at the TV.  I am also afraid of rats and at any moment, they could show a rat.  I did, however, watch with my son.

One lady, Carol, said she was interested in lots of things, so she collected them, and she was always searching for that “special thing.”  She lived with her husband in a 3 story mansion that was so full of stuff she collected that no one could enter.  The weight of the stuff on the third floor was so great that the ceiling on the 2nd floor was cracking.  The city had sent letters about the condition of the home as it needed to be condemned.  Finally their adult children stepped in to help - for various reasons, it had been 21 years since they had entered the home.  They didn’t show a rat, but there were traps, and they found a fossilized rat skeleton that died in the kitchen. 
Another lady, Althea, and her husband Julius had been building their dream home when Julius died.  Eight years later, she was still buying stuff and holding onto things they bought, with the plan to build this dream home.  Althea had also become isolated from friends and family because they could not visit her due to all the stuff inside and outside the house.  She even had a trailer bed in the yard that was full of stuff.  The city was condemning the property.  When the show came to her rescue, she fought them about everything.  In eight years, she had not thrown away any of Julius’ things - didn’t even want to throw away his socks!  She had not grieved, she was living in a false reality. 

They say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  I don’t think that’s Scripture, but there’s some truth here.  Neither of these women set out to become hoarders.  Neither of them disliked family or friends and set out to make them uncomfortable.  Carol was buying things that made her happy and she said she was always searching for the elusive “special thing.”  Althea had not accepted her husband’s death - she received counseling for her hoarding, but she was eight years beyond the need for grief counseling.  Last week’s message was about how I evaluate my own mental status, and my routines to ensure I maintain a healthy headspace. I hope you are evaluating yourself, too!  We can slip into unhealthy thoughts and feelings through multiple triggers.  I’ve known people who partake in “retail therapy,” shopping to relieve stress, and that can become problematic in the long run.  

God created us to be in relationship with family, friends, and with Him.  We should not be so surrounded by stuff that our relationships are harmed.  It’s just stuff.  For about a year, I have been in declutter mode.  I have severed my attachment to stuff.  Last year, around this time, we had not decided to move, but I had decided that if we were going to move we needed to start sorting through the 15 years worth of accumulated stuff in our home.  I cannot say how many trips to the recycling centers and Goodwill were made, but the workers there know my car!  I value space, empty space, I love opening a cabinet and seeing nothing but the back wall.  There are 2 empty drawers in my dresser - and I like it that way! 

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:27  Amazon and Facebook Marketplace do not sell peace, joy, or happiness.  These are found only in Jesus.  He also said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6  Evaluate yourself and decide if you believe these words.  Evaluate yourself and decide if your lifestyle indicates that you believe these words.  Poor Carol was buying everything trying to find that “special thing.”  That special thing is a relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  That special thing isn’t a pair of shoes, a purse, a set of DVD’s, or a bottle of perfume, it’s Him.  He loves, He understands, He comforts, He gives us peace and joy that surpasses all understanding.  
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When we are feeling down or discouraged, we should go to Him in prayer and meditation.  We should have friends and family members we can visit or invite to our homes.  When we are feeling down, we should go outside and enjoy God’s Creation.  Sometimes I am fascinated by the cloud formations - He doesn’t have to give us that spectacular show everyday, but He does.  Right now with all the flowers blooming, I enjoy walking through the neighborhood to see what my neighbors have planted and how they have arranged it.  Our joy, our peace, our understanding should be centered in Him.  Evaluate yourself this week - are you living as if you believe Jesus is the center or your joy?  All the rest is just stuff.  You cannot take stuff with you; and stuff will not reserve your seat at the Father’s table.  That “special thing,” is a relationship with Jesus.  Amen. 


Please pass this message along!  Amen. 
Thank you for reading!
Kim  ​