Downsizing Our Home?

We have been inspired to live simply. From reading One Thousand Gifts and The Reason for God to watching Fran's Chan sermons online, our hearts have been spurred to change. Everywhere we look, we see opportunities to help, assist, sacrifice for the good of others, but we find it hard to fit that into our middle class lives. For years we have developed a typical American life: successful careers, 2 kids, 3 bed/2 bath house with privacy fence and 2 car garage, vacations with family over the holidays, eating out once or twice a week, on and on we go. That isn't a bad thing, but for us, our comfort trumped our obedience to God.

The time has come to change.

I read this article from Thriving Family magazine just last week and I wept as my eyes took in the words. Francis Chan and his family have downgraded their home to give their extra money to those who truly need it after Francis witnessed first had the poverty and depravity in Uganda. Many have questioned this decision, wondering how this sacrifice could be beneficial for their four children, but the Chans have not wavered in their decision to live simply for the purpose of serving others. The section of the article that struck me the most was what their 14 year old daughter said about a difficult time for them when a single mother who only spoke Spanish and her four children came to live at her family's house:

Rachel looks back on their time with the homeless family as an important season of growth. "The reason it was so hard at first was due to the fact that I was not putting them before myself," she says. "It was an issue for me to understand that the world does not revolve around me. This is not my home. My treasure is in heaven, and my home is with Christ."

Such an attitude leaves Francis and Lisa in awe of what God has done in their children's hearts. In downsizing their life, they now see that they've lost nothing of real value — and have gained a treasure of eternal worth. 

 Does that not just touch your heart? I want my children to grow up and know that this is not their home. This life is only temporary, a fleeting moment, a dim reflection in the mirror. How can they learn this from me if I am digging my nails deeply trying to grip the sand of this life as it slips through my fingers? If the disappoints of this life make me yell and scream and kick my feet in protest, how do these reaction send the message that this life is temporal?

We are inspired and motivated to change.

Just the other day I said to Craig, "If we are going to have or adopt more kids, we are going to need a bigger house." Wait. Do we need another house, or would it be more comfortable to have a bigger house? Craig's gentle reminder put the perspective back where it needed to be. As Americans, we are blessed more then we can fathom. My daily complaints are over luxuries that the majority of the world has never experienced: driving, air conditioning, purchasing new things, healthy children, wardrobe options. Most of the world worries about life altering dilemmas: clean water, typhoid, child soldiers, human trafficking, poor nutrition. How shortsighted I become when I choose to ignore the daily ongoing needs of those around me and around the world. How blinded I am when I think, "I don't have the resources to help them." Don't I serve a big God? Isn't he capable of anything?

Change is the only option. 

Craig is a teacher. I am a photographer. We have 2 preschoolers, a mortgage and student loan payments. We have great reasons not to serve, not to reach out, not to give of ourselves. But that isn't an option for us anymore. As Christians, we are called to help the orphans and widows. We are commissioned to share this hope we have in Christ with others. We can no longer continue on this path of self preservation, knowing that others need us to respond. We aren't going to be as drastic as the Chan family by downsizing our home, but we are making changes. I'll write about those another time, but for now the biggest change is our outlook on life. We are truly rich in every way, and it is time that the wealthy give to the poor.


UPDATE
 After writing this post, a friend shared this project with me and I think it is a fitting addition to this post. This is a picture project of by Peter Menzel that captures families and all of their possessions. It really gives a perspective about how much we own as Americans. Take a look by clicking here.

I have written a post about one way we are going to implement these changes. Read it by clicking here.