How was your Thanksgiving break? Mine was one of the most peaceful in recent years. No, I did not just eat and sleep all day. In fact, I was quite busy hosting a huge Thanksgiving family get-together at my house. Incidentally, the highlight of the Thanksgiving break for me was the success of my first-ever cooked turkey! Thanks to the step-by-step online instructions, my turkey and all its trimmings turned out quite fabulously. With the laptop right on the kitchen counter, it was like having a private cooking instructor right alongside me. As wonderful as these online cooking assistances are, however, it no longer affords us an excuse not to be able to cook something. At this rate, sooner or later, our husbands may demand we turn out Martha Stewart-ish dishes!
The reason I felt peaceful and well-rested, I believe, has to do with how I spent the days following Thanksgiving – to be more specific, how I did not get lured into the Black Friday or Cyber Monday bargain hunting insanity. Yes, I do confess I too have “been there and done that” in the past, but this year I had NO desire whatsoever to be a part of it. Did I finally become completely sanctified, become like Jesus, with no worldly desires? Did I get too old and weak to engage in this physically and mentally challenging endeavor? Or was it because I now have everything I ever needed or wanted? We all know that’s not the case.
Then why was it different this year? How was I able to overcome the fierce enticement of amazing Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals? I came up with three reasons, and I hope to apply these principles not only during the Thanksgiving holidays, but throughout the year from now on. First, my mind was preoccupied with successfully hosting my first ever Thanksgiving party, which was going to be my way of expressing appreciation for each family member, who has so richly blessed my life. With that “loftier” goal in mind, my selfish desire and need became less significant. Secondly, as soon as all the sales ads were delivered home, they were dumped straight into the recycling bin. Eve was tempted and subsequently sinned because she allowed her eyes to keep gazing at the forbidden fruit. I knew better not to have them around to stimulate and overwhelm “the cravings of my sinful heart and the lust of my eyes.” Thirdly, and most importantly, I had no desire to add even one more item to the ton of “stuff” we’ve accumulated over the years. Most of these were probably things that we ‘had to have’ at the time, but in this new season of our lives as we prepare to go out as long-term missionaries, we wish we didn’t have as much stuff to have to get rid of.
It’s not that we’ve lived a life of excessive luxury or indulgence (ask my children; they’ll vouch for it), but we surely could have done without a whole lot of things. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). I cannot help but think, “What if all this stuff distracted us from solely looking to Jesus for true satisfaction? How much more fruit would we have been able to bear if we had invested more into the lives of other people?” But thank God that He is the God of second chances! As Elder Frank and I follow the Holy Spirit’s lead into the next phase of our lives, we pray we will no longer be weighed down by the things of the world, but passionately pursue after God’s heart. We desire to “travel light, dwell deep” for the remainder of our lives.
From Pastor Sara’s Heart
December 2, 2012