Goodbye Stuff

Packing. Planning. More packing. More planning. A lot of packing. A lot of planning...

This is our life at the moment.

We are currently at the 44 day mark before our move to Haiti. Although the Thanksgiving break was fun and especially joyful because we were together, it wasn't very relaxing. As soon as the turkey and stuffing settled, we were off to work...packing and planning.

From afar, the packing doesn't seem that difficult. However, it isn't like we are just moving to a new house or anything. We can't just place everything in boxes only to open them up in our new place and use again. Instead, we are having to sort through everything and determine whether to put it in storage, or take it to Haiti. Now obviously we are leaving all our furniture behind, but we are having to sit down and make choices about everything else.

On our flight, we have reserved 500 pounds of luggage, including our dog. I know that 500 seems a lot, especially when most of us are used to only taking 50 pounds of luggage into Haiti. But minimizing all our possessions into 500 pounds or less can be quite tricky. And I am so thankful for Hunter's ability to prioritize (something I sometimes lack). There have been countless of times he has stopped me from placing another picture frame or book in the Haiti pile. At the rate I was going before he intervened, I would have showed up to MFI with an easy 1000 pounds!

But like I said, I am thankful we are having to prioritize. Simplifying our belongings has already been a blessing. And just ask Hunter, I have complained a bunch along the way. But the closer we are getting and the more our stuff gets boxed away, the more I am realizing that this is necessary. Sure, we can't take everything with us anyway, but shredding away at our earthly stuff is making us more vulnerable to God's stuff. The less we hold on to our things, the more we will hold on to him.

So goodbye stuff...

Jillian

(To the right is our dog Sadie. The whole time we were packing she just sat on the couch and played with her Flappy toy! I hope she more helpful at the CHCH!)