All you need is stuff....wah wah nan na na

Right now we're about four hours away from checking in for our flight and I'm not really sleeping, just processing silly worries. So, while we're waiting, here's a post I've been wanting to write for a couple of months actually. Anyone who's been around me lately knows I have good reason for it to be on my mind, and they are probably sick of hearing me talk about it. Sorry friends, I won't be offended if you skip this post...it's about stuff.

How much stuff do you have? Why do we have so much of it? What do we do with it when we don't need it anymore? How do we know if we don't need it anymore? My husband built a program last year that helps you make decisions (big decisions, like what should I study in school, or which job should I take), maybe I should suggest he make a program that helps you determine if you need to hang onto something for a while longer. Collapsible child's booster seat? OK, you might need that again...Shampoo you don't like?? You can throw that away without feeling guilty... Stickers??? Stuff that into the carry-on, the kids love those! Maybe it could even help you know how much it would cost and if it's available in foreign countries....I could've used that program a lot this month. We've been packing. And this time it's not packing to fill a 10 fit container for shipment, it's packing into suitcases that only stretch so much and always exceed 50 lbs much faster than you expect.

Our baggage on the airplane (since it's international) is two free suitcases, 50 lbs each, per ticket. Iris doesn't have her own seat, so that means we can bring 300 lbs of stuff, plus whatever we can cram into our carry-ons. That sounds like a lot (like when I'd hear in Sunday School about the Mormon pioneers who could bring 18 lbs of stuff), but believe me, it's not. It's our clothes (carefully picked over to include only clothes that are lightweight and suitable for the climate), electronics we didn't want to send on the boat, books we should've packed but can't stand to leave behind now (there are no public libraries in Ghana) and a few other odds and ends. Looking at our enormous remaining piles of 8 suitcases (yes, we packed two extra, yes we'll pay through the nose for them), three rolling carry-ons, two computer bags (we'll pretend that's a small personal item), and one bulging backpack for meeting all needs on the plane.... it's pretty embarrassing. And yet, I KNOW, when we get there, some of these things I'll probably decide I don't need, and I'll be thinking longingly of the thingamajig I dropped off at the homeless shelter.   

 Lamp, made from a cocoa can

And yet, all month of December I've been telling myself how lucky I am I don't have to participate in the crazy accumulation of stuff that happens around Christmas every year. I've been chucking at all the silly people fighting over play stations, sheet sets, boots, and remote controlled toys. I've been patting myself on the back that I live so simply and frugally. HA! When I look at my pile of stuff that has to be carefully weighed and checked at the airport (and carted and carried around until then) I can't help feeling pretty silly. Especially when I think about the long process it took to winnow the things I "need" down to that amount.

The compulsion to clutch my stuff, hoard it, and hold onto it even when it may be holding me back (Laman and Lemuel) is really about lacking faith. Faith that life will be ok without this object. Faith that I'll figure out a way to either improvise, or alter my lifestyle accordingly. Faith that although I may notice the absence of something at first...many people all over the world (including where I'm moving to) are very happy without that particular convenience.

I read a book once about a family that moved to the Congo. As one of the American daughters tried to understand rural Africa, she asked a man about traveling between villages, specifically about crossing rivers. The man said there were many kinds of rope bridges that were built, or the rivers were canoed across. When the American asked, "What about a river that is so big, you can't build  rope bridge, and it
s so fast you can't canoe across it?" the Congolese man smiled at her ignorance and said "That's very simple; This river should not be crossed."

Can you eat soup without a spoon? Africans can.

That answer may not apply to everything in life. Some rivers should be crossed even if the way seems impossible. But in the little parts of my day I can use this information to learn to use what I have, rather than wishing I had something else.