What We Choose to Collect
I’ve always loved to collect.
As a kid, I gathered giraffes, postage stamps, coins, shells, and even old Sunday school lessons. I once received an entire leftover quarter of the curriculum and treasured it. I organized everything carefully in a two-drawer black filing cabinet I asked my mom to buy me, filing photos with ticket stubs and other small memorabilia. It felt good to know my things had a place.
I also loved free and cheap things. Once, I bought one hundred reusable white plastic cups for a dollar. What would a pre-teen need with a hundred cups? I gave many away to my best friend’s big family and used the rest to organize craft supplies.
I collected and collected—until I moved overseas. Then I had to purge and donate much of what I had gathered.
Now I watch my daughter do the same. I’m constantly clearing out knick-knacks, random papers, and rocks from her room. Her space is full, yet she still wants more.
Why is it such a natural inclination to collect?
Why isn’t minimalism the norm?
People everywhere. Stuff everywhere.
Are you okay being in the midst of a mess? For me, it feels stressful to have things out of place and dirty. And yet, I often find myself right in the middle of messes. As a mom of two young kids, with a house that lately feels like it has a revolving front door, the messes keep coming. I’m not ultra-clean or particularly organized, but I love when things are orderly. Like most people, I wish for a button that would magically clean everything up.
Now I know I don’t want to collect things.
Instead, I want to collect stories and lived memories.
The girl who grew up to be a woman during the decade we never saw each other.
Chiara is someone I met when she was an impressionable seventeen-year-old. She was curious about life beyond her upbringing and culture. Like me, she had been homeschooled and grew up in a small town. Her first trip to visit us in Thailand sparked something new in her, and two years later she returned with her mother during a difficult season. They volunteered with our organization for seven months.
That was during the time I was living in Australia. I hadn’t seen her since.
It’s eleven years later, and she’s here now at GAP with her husband, Shane. There is a conviction, passion, and purpose flowing out of them. It was meaningful to see them ministering together in our church on Sunday.
They came to GAP to see what our organization has grown into now and to build relationships along the way. They’ve invested their time well—helping the guys with maintenance, sitting by the campfire with students, picking oranges with their sponsor student, and playing sports and games with staff and students.
Here at GAP, many people come through our revolving door. Our hope is always that each visit makes a difference and that people leave more blessed than when they arrived. Some visit just once. Others return again and again. Chiara’s investment has spanned more than a decade—and Shane joined in when they married.
Why am I writing about Chiara today? Because she reminds me that collecting stories and lived memories is one of the most important things to acquire. Stories and lived memories are what shape us over time. They are what inspire us to grow.
In a few months, she is launching a keepsake magazine for Christian women called Overflow Journal. The project began as a dream in her heart: to share everyday Christian women’s testimonies and encourage women in their walk with God. Her heart is that through the sharing of testimony, we overcome together—because it is the Spirit of prophecy that bears testimony to Jesus.
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…”
Revelation 12:11
“…For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
Revelation 19:10
Overflow Journal is becoming a reality—a keepsake filled with testimonies to inspire, recipes to bake, and projects to create. GAP, myself, and Grace will be featured inside, and we’re grateful to be part of what Chiara is creating.
I’m thankful to see who Chiara has become and to glimpse where she’s going. Isn’t it a beautiful thing to watch each other blossom and grow?
You can find out more about the Overflow Journal here: Overflow Journal
