'Stuff'

Whenever someone writes a blog you always have to temper it with your knowledge of that person. Does this person 'see the glass half full or half empty' so to speak. What does this person have as a point of comparison?. ...(I trust as Christians we try to see the glass half full.) Interpretation of an event also depends on a person's reference point. If you had never been to Waveland most likely you would be shocked by the devastation you would witness but if you are returning after a year or two your reaction might be of a more positive nature, as you compare the past with the present...at least this is what one hopes for.

Such were my concerns on returning to Waveland.....Would there be considerable improvement in the last year or would I be disappointed to see the lack of development and financial support. Well I am pleased to say that there has been much development and whilst much of the devastation is still here, there is progress. And so there should be with 600 Methodists alone coming every week to the area with Missions such as Gulfside.

The remaining damaged buildings and land are like a welcoming face that I got to meet and know last year. Strange, that I am comforted to see the destruction simply because it is familiar and yet it is an emblem that bears the scars of tragedy. Why are we so attracted to familiarlity when it symbolises a negative?

And this gets me onto write about 'stuff.' Forgive me Rev. Scott Imler for stealing the title of a wonderful sermon you gave back in July/August last year. And let me explain...I have lived a very contented life for three years in LA without my 'stuff' which was in storage in Florida. Finally in Jan. this year I had all my 'stuff' transported to LA at great cost and then proceeded to make myself ill for five weeks as I opened each box. It was like opening Pandora's box....the memories of my past life flooded out....some good, some not so good but I suddenly discovered why 'stuff' was 'important'. At that moment my 'stuff' identified who I was before I came to LA. It was not about having a teapot to make tea or my favorite mug....(although tea is always important to a Brit:) .....it was the letters from my husband when he was in Iraq or the poems written for me from a now dead friend. The photo albums of thirty years ago locked away....some moments of which I thought I had forgotten as a new me was slowly immerging in LA. Now of course everything is neatly unpacked and 'stored' away in my home....and probably will not be looked at until I next have to pack up and move.

However, some of this 'stuff' was not good and brought memories best left forgotten. They brought sadness and tears but ironically, at the same time their familiarity was also comforting....'Oh yes, that's who I was.' I mused. 'Stuff' that caused pain!!!! Did I really need this 'stuff' to remember who I was?..... And maybe it really wasn't that important any more because, perhaps that's not who I am any more.

So this 'stuff' that we accumulate. We make ourselves slaves to finance, work every hour we can to have the money to....what?.....buy more 'stuff'?....And so the endless circle continues until we pass to the next world and leave our 'stuff' with someone else. Finally we are free of all that weight that caused confusion, stressed us out everytime we moved and kept us clinging to perhaps better forgotten moments in life. Yet when alive we needed all that 'stuff' because it represented who we were and what we did in life!!!

Let me apologise for pontificating on this but it had been nagging me for days. Then suddenly, at the little church in Bay Saint Louis we visited today.....(the choir here miss you John Heaner)....the minister stood up and talked about inheritance and wills. But he, of course was not talking about inheritance of'stuff' but God's inheritance. The inheritance we gather to receive together each Sunday. God's word.

And as I sat and listened, surrounded by many people in that congregation who I know lost much in the Katrina tragedy, a wave of pure joy and peace came over me. (Ironic...shouldn't this disaster be about doom and gloom?) But here I was once again giving of myself, with just a couple of t-shirts and work clothes in my suitcase and I felt closer to God at that moment than I had for months. No 'stuff'. Just me in the here and now, with my brothers and sisters from Hollywood United Methodist Church and Bette (from Westwood) and those people of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

A baby was baptised and giggled throughout the service, making us all laugh. A girl sang....as good as any Hollywood singer but she sang from a core of simplicity and peace. There was such joy in that room and comradeship....all united by a commom cause. A belief in a healing God....each blessed with God's power to heal with a smile, a touch. A community working to rebuild.

But here's the rub? Will the people of Mississippi pursue 'stuff' once they have their basic needs met. Probably yes. And will we of Hollywood United Methodist Church hold onto a love for one another when we return to LA. Probably no. Because once again we will all be united by 'mankind's' common pursuit of 'stuff'. United through greed not love. Such greed that can only stifle...suffocating God's power within us. By the way I hope I am proved wrong in these comments.

And so, in conclusion, and I know I have wandered a little in my thoughts.... forgive me as I grapple with this.....I question how much 'stuff' we need in life to really be close to God. A tough question for many.

I wonder if it is such a tough question for those who lost all their 'stuff' in Katrina. Whilst they grieve the loss of the familiar....of who they were....they have received in abundance a spiritual strength closer to perhaps the real truths of life that few of us ever get near to understanding. From their loss many now have found a closer path to God. I say this from witnessing the abundant stories of love and gratitude. From being blessed with being part of the church service today and seeing for myself the unity of people here working to rebuild lives and homes.

What joy. No 'stuff' could ever give me this. And...oh if I was only strong enough to give up all my 'stuff' and walk this path everyday. (Guess I am still too much a coward.) And yet I can't tell you enough how fulfilling this work is.

For those of you who pulled out of this trip last minute for lack of finance....I urge you...... if you get the opportunity again.....do it. Your work is so important out here. And trust me...what you gain out here is worth far more than what you will give. It is magnified and is priceless. Better than any 'stuff' you can buy in 'Wal-Mart.' (Sorry no offence intended...just an inside joke.)