One of the not-so-wonderful tasks that follow a “total loss” (one of our new insurance terms) is itemizing every object that existed in our home the moment before it went up in flames. It’s called taking inventory.
Jesus said that a person’s life does not consist of the abundance of their possessions (Luke 12:15). I can attest that this is true. After having lost almost everything, do you know what our hearts miss most?
- Anything that reminds us of my mom (who died back in ’99) —gifts or furniture she gave us, Christmas ornaments she made or bought for us
- Furniture and “vintage items” given to us by grandparents, family, and friends
- Reminders of good times long past—scrapbooks, yearbooks and memorabilia of high school and college
- Items that reminds us of God’s faithfulness or lessons learned—pictures from early mission trips, the picture album Pam made me, artifacts from ministry trips around the country and the world
While we will be glad to replace the necessary items in our home, the things that are most important to us, the things that reflect our values in life, these things remain—our heart and love for God and the people He has graciously brought into our lives through the years. We are glad that we still can recall the actual memories and still have many of those people in our lives. And, above all, we still have our faithful God who is already forming new memories of His goodness to us.