482 items

So we are back.

It's funny really.

There were 482 items. 482 items!!! And I stood there in the hot sun as it was all unloaded to put a little check mark on a page to validate each box as it came off the truck.

I couldn't help thinking...how can the life of a family be boiled down to a list of 482 items. I mean, that is what came off the truck, right. 482 items represents the sum total of what they brought with them when they moved. These are the things that they valued enough to bring with them.

Lots of stuff didn't make the cut. Things got tossed or donated or just given away. Lots of stuff...I was there, I saw it happen.

So these 482 items were everything that they brought with them as they began their new adventure...at least that was what I thought...at first.

As I was standing there in the middle of all these boxes I realized that this was just their stuff. If the truck had for some reason not made the trip, and all the stuff never showed up it really wouldn't have changed much.

Sure, it would have been a major pain. They would have gotten a check from someone and then they would have had to go out and replace all the stuff, but in the end they would just end up with new stuff.

It wouldn't really have affected what they brought with them that really mattered. What they really moved with were the intangibles that really define their lives.

They moved with the PEACE that comes with knowing that they made the move because God wanted them to go there.

There was HOPE and EXCITEMENT for new adventures they would experience.

FAITH went with them, because it is what defines their lives.

They each had PLANS for what they would do when they got there.

They have DREAMS for this new chapter in lives.

LOVE surrounded them because they were sent off with it from many friends from home, and because they define it in their family relationships.

They couldn't travel without the MEMORIES of friends and good times that remained behind.

There were even a few FEARS of the unknown in what they would be facing. They probably didn't want to bring those, but in the end they are good too because their fears will drive them into the arms of a loving God whom they serve.

As I stood there in the driveway that hot sunny day, I realized that the intangibles added up to a lot more than 482 items ever would.

So it doesn't really matter that they can't find the toaster...