IMPORTANT STUFF

You know, I used to make fun of people who continuously hoarded stuff. I don't mean GOOD stuff, I mean useless stuff. Weird stuff... stuff nobody would EVER need in a million years.
Who does that? I mean, come on... what kind of person does that? And NO... you CAN'T look in my garage.
A strange thing happened yesterday, though, that caused me to stop and ponder such. My little sweetie, asked me a seemingly harmless question. She said, "Eddy, you know our filing cabinet is full of last year's stuff and we sure could stand to clean it out and make some more room for what we'll need to keep this year. Would you mind going through it and re-organizing everything?"
Eager to please, I told her, "Sure, Precious... (I call her that sometimes 'cause she likes it)... I said, "Sure, Precious, I'd be glad to do that."
So with a smile upon my lips and a song in my heart, I devised a plan sure to dazzle her with my brilliance. And I don't mind telling you my plan was working perfectly until I opened the first drawer to begin. Good grief!!! What a nightmare!
I cannot even begin to tell you how quickly this little chore turned into a mind-numbing experience. My little dazzling plan went out the door within the first 10 minutes. In a matter of a few minutes, my office looked like a small bomb had gone off in it. I had to get some kind of organization going BEFORE I could even determine what stayed, what went, and what needed to be boxed and kept for future reference... And all this on the first drawer!
I found stuff I hadn't seen in YEARS... and I don't mean a couple of years... I mean a LOT of years.
I found a couple of resumes with addresses on them that I don't even remember. HEY LOIS... did we ever live in New Mexico? I mean it was amazing. I found a stack of emails that we'd printed from back in 1996 and saved. I didn't even remember having a computer back in 96. I guess I was afraid email wouldn't be around for very long so I wanted to make sure I kept them.
I mean the list of stuff I found went on and on. I even found my ORIGINAL birth certificate. I hadn't seen THAT in a lot of years. And for those of you wondering... YES they had birth certificates back then... (and yes, I put that one in the "keep" stack. You never know when I might want to run for President and I'd need it... heh, heh, heh)
I found my military discharge orders. I even found a note written by some lady from the Texas Education Agency telling me I needed to take 6 more hours of college classes in order to be eligible for a Teacher's Certificate in some area other than what I majored in. I quickly figured out why that particular note didn't make much of an impact on me. It took me 6 years to get a 4 year degree and the thought of going back to school for another year just for those 2 classes didn't excite me much.
By the time it was all said and done... which was just a tick over 5 grueling hours to go through 6 drawers, I had probably discarded enough paper to account for a large percentage of one of those disappearing South American rain forests we keep hearing about. I'm sure documenting such waste will infuriate some over-bearing environmentalists... and nope... I didn't recycle. I don't see much use in THAT either. I mean I'd have to put it all into those 4 plastic trash bags, (those are bad)... put them in my pickup, (pickups are bad)... drive several miles to the nearest recycle bin emitting all that carbon and exhaust pollution, (both of those are bad), just so I can save the planet from burning up... It just didn't seem to balance out to me.
So all in all, yesterday was a good day. I got those filing cabinet drawers cleaned out, organized and ready for 2010, AND I learned not to be quite so critical of those poor souls who "keep stuff" just because they THINK they MIGHT need it later. In fact, I learned yesterday that I AM one of those poor souls.
I'm not much on New Year's resolutions, but I might endeavor to be a little less insistent on keeping stuff I think I might need someday. Because after all, no matter how much I THINK I might need it... it's still just STUFF.
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6; "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth (and that includes; or in your filing cabinets) where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven"... and then He said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And now that I've had a day to think about it, the treasures contained in my "Keep Stuff" stack can't compare to what the Lord has prepared JUST for me... Now THAT'S something worth hanging on too, but then... Hey, It's Just A Thought.
Have a blessed week and think about me when you open that first drawer to begin...
Pastor Eddy