Recently I have been reading about minimalism. There are many sites, but I like The Minimalists.
So I decided to throw out the idea of minimalism to my family. There are five of us including me. They just looked at me….or completely ignored me.
I doubt our family will jump into minimalism tomorrow, however, one thing I think my husband definitely agrees with, and my kids are surely learning, is that the more stuff we have the more we have to maintain!
And maintenance takes MONEY, SWEAT, TIME, AND MENTAL/SPIRITUAL/EMOTIONAL ENERGY.
Seriously…..in the past 3 months:
- we had to buy a new washer when the old one died (the old one was only 5 years old but it would have been 1/2 as much to fix as getting a new one – that is if we had bought the same thing instead of upgrading to a front loader!)
- when we called out the painter, to MAINTAIN the outside of the house, he found places of rotten wood – more money to fix the wood!
- the yard mowing/grooming starts again – 2 1/2 acres SWEAT and TIME. (my son is learning this lesson)
- the girls were able to talk the contractors into painting their rooms for free; oh but wait, now they need new comforters to match their walls. (MONEY)
- somehow after the contractors finished the upstairs bathroom renovation the air conditioner broke. (SWEAT and MONEY)
- and we really need to replace our couches (MENTAL/SPIRITUAL/EMOTIONAL ENERGY = FOR ME)
I guess we should wait on the couches. Because if we get the couches then we have to maintain them from the dogs wearing them out.
The list goes on and on.
It isn’t just on the big stuff.
Have you ever gone to the grocery and bought a bunch of stuff and then had to work late for a week and didn’t feel like cooking it. But if you don’t cook it, then not only does the food go bad, but you also spend more on going out.
Which requires you to work more to afford the monthly food bill!
It’s a circular.
Which by definition is non-ending.
Jesus, of course, had this figured out too. He traveled without anything. He told his disciples to leave everything and follow Him. Yes, I realize he could multiply a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread into enough to feed 5000, but in general, Jesus didn’t believe in a lot of stuff.
So why do we need it all? He says He is enough for us.
Yet we are always looking for more.
I haven’t figured this one out yet.
There aren’t 5 bullet points on how to fix this coming next. I will simply end this post with this:
I recognize the circular.
I don’t believe this is what God wants us to chase.
And I am changing my direction (even if it is slowly).
How about you?
