33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. Luke 12:33 (NKJV)
By Bro. John L. Cash
I’ve been retired from full-time school teaching for two weeks now. I’ve had a great time, but I think I’ve been busier than when I was teaching every day.
I’ve worked two jobs for 28 years, and I feel like I’m about 15 years behind on things that I’ve stacked up to do “when I get time.” It’s nice to finally have a little time to try to get caught up.
For years I’ve had more “stuff” than I’ve needed. Susan and I have had loved ones pass away (or go to assisted living) and it’s been our job deal with their possessions. Plus, I had plenty of things that I’ve accumulated on my own. This has left me with a moral dilemma. I don’t like for my storage rooms to be crammed with clutter, but I also don’t want usable things to go to waste.
I think I’ve found a solution: I’ve rented a flea market booth.
So many of my flea market neighbors have really nice booths. They are set up like little shops and boutiques. I’m just getting started, so I just have four long tables.
My booth looks a little like an upscale rummage sale, but I sell a lot of stuff because I have great prices. I try to have the lowest prices in the building. That way if I bring a load today, a lot of it will be gone and they’ll be room for the load I bring tomorrow. So far it’s working out great.
Susan has been happy with my plan, and she’s given me a lot of her stuff to sell, too. We’re really trying to move out the merchandise, but we’ve made an agreement; if either of us misses an item, we are free to purchase a duplicate. After all, we can buy it with the bit of money that we’ve made at the flea market.
With that in mind, there’s one thing I’ve noticed. Whenever I’ve cleaned out clutter in the past, I’ve rarely ever regretted losing anything that I’ve given away. I’ve always been taught, “Things don’t make you happy.” The older I get, the more I see that this is true. The Lord brings me joy, and the time I spend with people I love makes me happy, too.
Have a great week, and spend some time making more room for the things that are most important. In doing so, you can’t help but fill your life with joy.
Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 31 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (Until recently he had a desk-job at a public school, where he used to teach Latin on closed-circuit-television.) He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the recently-retired-schoolteacher Preacher sold a galvanized bucket for $1.00 this week.) Their kids include Spencer (age 25), his wife Madeline (age 25), and Seth (age 22), and his wife Leanne (age 21). You can send him a note at brotherjohn@ilovechurchcamp.com.
