MY stuff!!!

We had a message in church on Thanksgiving that’s been on my heart a lot lately.

My sister Nancy, for those of you who don’t know her, is mentally handicapped. She’s been that way since she was 2 years old when she contracted encephalitis. The thing about Nancy is that she LOVES her stuff. She crams it all into her purse and tries to carry it all with her wherever she goes. At times her purse is unbelievably heavy! About every other weekend my mom has to distract her long enough to quickly sort thru her latest collection of treasures to purge out the garbage & stuff that isn’t needed in order to lighten the purse so it doesn’t hurt my sister to carry it. If Nancy sees what she’s doing she gets VERY upset w/my mom. She doesn’t want anyone messing w/her stuff!

And it hit me…I’m like that.

I don’t like when God messes w/MY stuff. I don’t like when he purges things out my life….things that I think are MINE or even relationships that I think I’m ENTITLED to. Sometimes I find myself holding on to things so tightly!! My knuckles are white with strain as I try my hardest to keep track of MY stuff!!!  I stress, I worry, I am ever watchful….and it’s exhausting!

On Thanksgiving I was reminded of this again. The message really hit me...that I am not entitled to ANYTHING..period. Everything I have is my Father’s. I didn’t earn it, and I most definitely didn’t do anything to deserve it…and yet more times than not I find myself clutching it all fiercely to my chest, holding onto it for all I’m worth.

That sermon has challenged me to be thankful for the people & things that God has entrusted to me, but then in turn, for me to trust that He knows what’s best for me when he gently takes things away that have become too heavy for me to carry. I know He probably gets pretty frustrated with me & my "MINE" attitude!  I am so thankful for His grace and patience:)  I love Him.