Sentimental Value

After selling our West Michigan home two and a half years ago, Dennis and I began to sort through our possessions knowing we were about to move overseas. Thirty years of marriage and four children later we had plenty to sift through. What did we want to keep, give away, throw away or sell? After days and weeks of sorting, packing, a successful garage sale, numerous Goodwill runs, and Craigslist calls, we narrowed our possessions down to a 10 x10 storage space. Clothes, books, and some household items accompanied us on the day we flew to our new home in Budapest. If it wasn't for the sentimental value of some things, that 10 x 10 space could have been smaller. But, there are some things that a price tag can not measure the value of... like the old MasterCard ads... priceless best sums it up.

So, today I'm reading our daughter's blog as they get ready for an overseas move to New Zealand, and I am holding back tears. I remember what it was like to consider what was important or valuable or sentimental enough to keep. This was Jamie's dilemma as she contemplated whether a few sentimental items were worth the $10/cubic foot space in the packing crate to be shipped to Christchurch.

Iris

I had an old rocking chair that Dennis' mom gave me when we moved to Holland, MI. It was wooden except for the seat which was covered in a brown leather that had worn through so that the stuffing and springs were beginning to show. I threw a blanket over it and it served the wonderful memory of rocking our 9-month old Julie at the time. The rocker sat by her crib and it was one of my favorite places in our home at that time. It was a place of respite while I rocked Julie before nap time and at bedtime. We would look at picture books and then I'd softly sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Oh, How I Love Jesus" before laying her in the crib.

When Evee was born, I reupholstered the seat to match Jamie's nursery colors and passed it on to her.

Jamie & Joni playing at the little red table in Houston

My grandparents owned an ice cream shop when I was a little girl, and from what I'm told they sold some pieces of little furniture made by the Amish in the area. My little red table and chairs came from their shop and have all the markings of Amish craft, including the painted designs on the table and chairs.

I remember setting up my table and chairs in the small apple orchard behind our farm house and having tea with my dolls. Once I left for college and later got married, the table and chairs were stored in the farmhouse attic. When we moved to Houston, TX to plant a church I took the table and chairs with us. Josh was almost 3 and Jamie was just 9 months. That little red table and chairs served as a place to color or draw or have pretend tea or set up a grocery store or an extra table for the little ones when we had company. It was at that table that Jamie told Joni about Jesus, and Joni ask Jesus into her heart at a young age.

When Dennis and I were sorting through our big move, I gave the table and chairs to Jamie.

The rocker and the little red table and chairs are the only two things Jamie decided to take with her to New Zealand. At this point, their only two pieces of furniture.

Sentimental value... Jamie couldn't have summed it up better:

Both pieces went on that truck today and as I rocked Iris in the middle of boxes and the movers, I realized I would have paid a lot more to keep those things.  They make up home for me and are apart of who I am and what I want my girls to know.

Priceless.