The season is almost here! It is that time of year when fans pour into the streets and celebrate the newness of the hunt.
Is it the journey to victory? Is it the promise of a prize? Am I speaking of baseball’s spring training, March Madness, or something much more exciting?
Perhaps, you have guessed by now. It is, of course, yard sale season!
As the weather warms and garages bulge, countless people will empty out treasure unknown. From furniture to tools, exercise equipment to books, and everything in between, hoards of people will swarm driveways in search of some lost hidden gem.
I, too, will be among the throng of participants.
Some have already begun to offer items for re-homing.
Recently, I stopped at one such sale. It was an estate sale. Someone’s life of gathering was now being dispersed.
As I perused the items available, I was startled by one object. A curio cabinet was filled with various delicate porcelain cups, plates, and vases. Each was beautifully cared for and seemed to be of a generation or more ago. These were some of the most important memories of the newly deceased and now anyone could collect them absent the sentimentality.
In that moment I felt something—something sad and deeply intrusive.
What right did I have to own these items, these memories? None, I presumed.
While I passed on any purchases, it seemed self-evident that the offering and the image would stay with me.
To be sure, when anyone dies, plans must be executed to dissolve the estate. Thus, ordinary pedestrian possessions rightly need a new address. But specials things deserve more. And this was lacking as I gazed at things only a solitary soul would hold as beloved.
To this end, I began to think about what really matters—what really needs to be remembered.
And so, I offer a short list.
The first is this: people really matter. In an age where souls are disposable, where loneliness is rampant among almost every demographic, it is important to maintain priorities and focus on the people in our lives.
What value do we place in them? Set down the iPhone and play a game, ask open ended questions, and listen. Be present. The day will come when we wish we had them back.
The second: our purpose really matters. Yes, much of life is mundane, predictable, and even boring. But after our obligations, there is a world that awaits our participation. You alone have a certain set of gifts and talents that no one else has. You have much to offer and are designed to use these gifts to better humanity. Invest yourself in the world. What other reason do you have to live?
Finally, the person of Christ really matters. Any cursory reading of the Bible will quickly point to the moral and ethical downfall of humanity and the need for remediation. Not only does God wish for reconciliation with you but provides a pathway to life beyond this one.
We are flawed. An honest appraisal of one’s personhood will quickly reveal this. Short of God’s grace, his unmerited favor, our best efforts with others and purpose will soon be no more than a trinket in a cabinet.
What fills your cabinet of memories today? What will you be remembered for? What will people say really mattered to you?
As the yard sale hunts begin, pause at the personal items offered and consider the people you have gathered, the purpose that is before you, and the person that makes it all meaningful, Christ.
Let the season of things past, things present, and things to come begin!
Find out what really matters!
Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman, AZ.
