It all started with a status I read on Facebook:
“URGENT NEED….Everyone please read this….
A call was received asking us to let folks know that the Holy Family Soup Kitchen only has TWO coats to pass out this winter to the homeless. If you have any warm coats/jackets you no longer need or love- would you please consider donating to Holy Family Soup Kitchen and drop off at 584 W, Broad Street at the HFC Parrish building- or get with me. They have never been this low before- so please share this message. They also have donation slips, Thank you. If you can arrange to get the coats to me or have me pick up, I will see that they are delivered. It is getting cold very soon…. Be grateful you are living indoors. Let’s help them get their coat supply built up. May God bless you for your generosity!!!”
I read it and started to scan my coat supply in my head, counting and sorting and thinking through all the jackets I own.
Let’s see…
I know I have a few of those Walmart long cheap coats I stocked up on for 20 bucks a pop. I bought a back up for my back up. And then there is that Gap down coat I bought 15 years ago at the outlet store for 10 bucks when Derek and I were dating. Although the zipper ripped a while back, along with the pockets down the side, it’s still a decent coat I continue to wear for quick runs to school. Then there’s that dress coat I bought at Kohl’s on clearance a few years back because I really wanted a nice warm coat for those more formal affairs. And I forgot about the cute colored wool coats I got on clearance at Target about five years ago… Gosh I haven’t worn those in ages! And then of course, I have the one I recently bought at the thrift store- much thicker and warmer than the cheap Walmart ones… I needed a coat that could close and keep me warm through those bitter winter days. And my fall jackets? Oh now there’s a pile I can surely go through… Jean jackets, blazers, rain coats and hooded fleece. The list goes on and on…
Huh.
One word came to my mind after this inventory:
Excess.
As I walked over to our closet that revealed the evidence of my ongoing coat list lingering in my head, I passed the lines of shoes stretched out haphazardly piling on top of each other. Mounds of gym shoes bought for my kids, for me… Most of them cheap, on sale of course. My daughter might in fact have a color shoe for every outfit she wears. At $6.00 a pair, you can’t go wrong, right? I have just as many that I have collected through the years…
Glorious excess.
Conviction continued to settle into my already stirred heart, as I proceeded to open my fridge to get a drink, I noticed that smell.
The smell of rotting produce I bought and never used. Or maybe it was the eggs or the leftovers never eaten.
People are starving out there, and I throw out food every single day.
You should see the shelves in my basement. My husband says we could live on our stock for a year if we had to…
He’s right.
When there’s a sale, I make sure to take full advantage of it.
I can see lines of boxes of crackers, bags of chips, soup cans, and granola bars. Bundles of bags and boxes stacked on top of one another, representing a storage pantry that could possibly feed an army. Or at least my family, for a long long time.
Huh.
Same word sat heavy in my heart…
Excess.
We need for nothing.
Now, we’re not extravagant people. Don’t misunderstand our indulgences for recklessness. Our biggest luxury lies in taking the family out for a $7.00 loaded Gyros at our local diner. It’s a thrill. No seriously. We get excited about this very thing. Our family has only been on a few vacations- all of which were to visit family for free. We are frugal people and careful stewards with our finances.
We really are…
But still.
Excess.
Indulgent.
Excess.
People need coats.
People need shoes.
People need food.
We have an abundance of them all.
Conviction has now settled into passion.
A deep resounding passion.
It’s time to give.
Coats. Shoes. Food. Money. Whatever we’ve got to give.
Whatever you’ve got to give?
Because I’m guessing there may be a tiny possibility that you can count quite a few coats too. Maybe not. How many pairs of shoes line your entryway? A few more than needed? Perhaps your fridge reeks of rotting food that was never eaten too. Maybe not.
As for me?
I am going to go through our coats- and find those we don’t wear… and maybe some we do.
I am going to whittle away at our endless shoe supply and bag those we don’t need.
And give them. To those who do.
I am going to commit to simplifying my grocery list, to decrease the leftovers and with that money saved- I will buy more coats. To give.
I bought my new lovely warm winter coat for 8 dollars at the thrift store.
I can surely buy a few more to give away, if I’m just a wee bit more careful with our food budget.
And here’s where it gets hard.
I love our stuff.
I do.
It’s security, comfort, and honestly? Thoroughly enjoyable.
This won’t be an easy feat…
But how dare I wrestle with want when there is need surrounding my indulgent world.
As I recognize how much we have and how much others need, I realize once again, that we are called to serve and love “the least of these”…
With our own bounty of blessings.
We’ve got a lot to give.
And after we do?
I’m guessing we won’t even miss that stuff anyway.
The ability to care for another who desperately needs our provision, brings more joy and fulfillment than our ‘stuff’ ever could.
How about you?
May I suggest you join me in going through your own UN-needed excess of coats and shoes and drop them by your local shelters?
Just think of all the people that could possibly stay warm…
Have shoes…
Be fed…
With our excess.
Luke 3:11 (NIV)
11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Matthew 25:40New International Version (NIV)
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Even my meager closet contains excess. When there’s a chance, i will purge whatever I have by 10% for others. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’ll load a bag for Kidney Foundation to come pick up.
I love your heart Eli… 🙂
Aw, absolutely couldn’t agree more and just went through some of our clothes as I was switching for winter and donated what we no longer use or need, too. It isn’t always easy parting with our belongings even if we don’t use them, but still something that I very much think is the right thing to help those in need. thanks for the simple reminder here today, Chris.
I just keep thinking over and over again about ‘the least of these’… and how blessed I am to have SO much in my own life. Coats is just simply one thing to offer… 🙂
This summer, I cleaned out some of our excess and ended up donating 14 bags and 9 boxes. Coats, shoes, excess. I could probably do it again. Sales, excess. xoxo
I REMEMBER THAT!!! That is just awesome, my friend. And I get it… I could probably do it regurlary.
This is beautiful and convicting! I don’t feel like we have a ton of excess (well other than the food that I stockpile), since I’ve been trying to be much more intentional about decluttering and not having extra. Still, I know there are thing that we could give away to those in need. And even if we have to do without a bit, it really wouldn’t hurt us.
I’m guessing you probably have fewer things than most, Lydia- which is just so impressive! Perhaps a different way to go, is to possibly buy a few coats to donate from the thrift store! 🙂
Hi Chris! We have coat drives here all the time in the winter. I’ve given away some, and I’m sure I could again. What really resonated with me was the idea of ‘excess’. I know I often need a nudge to remember that I have WAY more than I could ever use, and there are people who would drool over my closet of old coats and clothing. How much do I really need?
This is an important concept, and we should all be talking about it. It’s not a big thing to do…but it’s a big thing to do.
Blessings,
Ceil
–It’s almost sinful…”The Excess.”
And I keep giving it away…too (my comma doesn’t work!!)
How do we accumulate all of this
STUFF?
xxxxxx
You and Cassidy both. Notice the excess, or have recently. It’s actually amazing. For me, we were so very poor for a long time and now that we aren’t, I still have that mentality to hold onto every morsel of everything. I think decluttering is highly important, and especially this time of year with the cold settling in.
This is where my natural hatred of “stuff” comes in handy – LOL. I just naturally like simplified and lots of storage space, so I tend not to be clothing at least in access. I have one of whatever need. And anytime my kids outgrow – off it goes to the charity box. I did have a love of shoes — because duh shoes!!! But I did managed to curb that down to only what I need.
But if I had money – I fear I’d probably sneak back up to excess again. Sometimes it pays to be broke. 🙂
Wow, Chris, I’m so humbled by this post. I try to live simply and often feel good about the fact that I don’t have that much clothing compared to my peers. It’s not about how much I have when compared to others, though, it’s about the fact that I still have more than I truly need and should share with others. The same could be said of the food I have. Thanks so, so much for the reminder. I’m pinning this to my “Being Salt & Light” board so I can review it when I need the reminder. 🙂
We give away a lot of stuff. Every season. But still… still. We have so much. Every filled garbage bag that we give away tears at my heart a little. So many have so little. Wonderful post.
Excess, we all know about it Chris. If we start looking into our homes, may it be closet or fridge or wardrobe or attic, we have many things we don’t use anymore, many things that other people may be happy to get.
I do try to give things away as often as I can, even food that I know I won’t have time to eat. But still I have more than I need to live.
So I join you with joy!
Thanks for the lovely reminder. Love from Paris.
This post hit home. We have been home for four years now from serving in Papua New Guinea. If there is anything I notice more then other things is the , excess, it’s everywhere. The neighbor hood I walk in has homes with full garages, not full with cars but stuff, so much stuff the cars won’t fit in them. It has been harder to get use to excess then it was to get use to doing with a little. It’s freeing things to get rid of our excess, especially when we know it will help someone. Good for you on the coats. We just recently moved and once again I got to spurge and give to a thrift store that uses it’s proceeds to help get those in sex trafficking out. Great post.
Betty, I just love your comment. Excess IS EVERYWHERE! It’s mind blowing how much we all have, and how much we truly can afford to give. I have several garbage bags full of coats from friends I had asked to give as well. There is SO much more I need to ‘let go of’… this is a start. 🙂 I know so many who have traveled on mission trips and come back with such a profound realization much like you shared. I don’t think many of us really know how buried we are in so much STUFF. We all need that reality check!
Excess. Yes! You know when I was in Haiti for merely a week, our brothers and sisters there had NOTHING and yet their faith seemed so much stronger for it. Like our stuff gets in the way of our reliance on the Lord. We start to rely on our stuff or think we deserve it or need it. Nope. Thanks for another thought-provoking post and nudge, Chris.
Oh gosh that was just SO convicting to read your comment, Katy. You are RIGHT. Our stuff, along with our BUSY schedules and distracted lives pulls us further and further away from our reliance on the Lord. It makes so much sense coming from your experience in Haiti. We are the ironically the ones who have least because of all our excess. Sigh…
We make bimonthly donations…but you’re right -might be time for a purge.
That is really AWESOME my friend. It sure sounds like you are a great role model for me to follow! *Will Try*
I’m dealing with this right now with toys. We have so many toys, many times you can’t even see the floor. We really need to donate some.
Yeah. I’ve been there too in the kids early years. Excess can be found in all kinds of places, yes? 🙂
What a beautiful gesture to purchase a few extra coats at the thrift store to donate!
I went through my coats last year and got rid of a few — couldn’t believe I still had the dress coat I had in high school; I hadn’t worn it in years. I am sure there are a few others that could go from our coat closet, too.
We live in a world where we buy, buy, buy and there are people in need. This is definitely the time to remember how fortunate we are and to help others.