Before I start this, I want to make sure I state that any enlightenment that I may have in this subject is mostly just several days old.

Joan and I had a plan. We decided to downsize and live the next few years in our motorhome. It requires a great deal of downsizing to live in a 32 feet long by 10 feet wide motorhome, so we got rid of a lot including giving away all of our furniture. We thought we had this downsizing all figured out.

And then the cancer diagnosis hit. It’s amazing how little value Joan and I placed on things once cancer came into the picture. Even mementos lost their importance. At the same time, in my regular Bible studying, I read this: 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.”

We (ok, maybe it was just me) forget sometimes that everything gets burned up in the end. All of the stuff that was so important burns up. All of the purchases that I labored over get burned up. My home, my vehicles and everything that I just had to have gets destroyed in the end.

This is not news to me, but I understand it better now. The things that matter most aren’t things. God, people and health matter, but things not so much. Dear God, please don’t let me forget this valuable lesson.