Cleaning Out Our Rooms.... and Hearts

Lydia laughed as she brought me the Barbie, "Look Mommy, she broke her arms." I looked down at the armless Barbie, but I wasn't laughing. "How did she break her arms?" Her response was hard to make out because of the giggling laughter " I couldn't get her shirt off so I pulled them too hard I think and they broke" I scolded her for being destructive and told her we would have to throw the Barbie away because there was no way to fix her arms. Lydia just shrugged it off and went back to playing with her other Barbie Dolls. A week later Emma brings me a drum she had gotten as a souvenir from Tweetsie. She had pulled the top and bottom off and un-threaded the string around it and tied it in knots, it was ruined. When I questioned her as to why she did it, her response was that it was old and she didn't really want it anymore anyway. When did my children decide it was o.k. to destroy and tear up their things? The sad part is that the Barbie and drum aren't the only items, this has been going on for a while now. Broken toys, missing pieces, stuff thrown around and stuffed in closets, torn papers, wasted papers and broken crayons. I looked around and realized that they just don't really care. They have so much stuff, they don't even care when something is torn, broken, missing. They have become so used to having, they aren't grateful for it anymore. Time for a change.
 My children have too much stuff. They have never really wanted for anything. They have been spoiled, they have been lavished with stuff. In our defense, they do not get toys when we go to the store. We have never bought them anything just for no reason, they don't go toy shopping during the year. We don't bribe them with toys or award them with toys. In their defense, they have never thrown a fit for a toy or a tantrum, they never ask for things when we are shopping and have never fussed, complained or pouted when we say no. These are all good things, but then the holidays come around, the special vacation trips, birthdays... and we make up for it by buying, buying, and buying. They get lots of gifts at each holiday, from multiple family members. My parents, Jason's parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and extended family. They get a windfall almost every holiday or special occasion. They have toys in every room of our home. We donate every year before Christmas, we make them give up some things, but for every box that goes, three more come in. It is overwhelming and ridiculous and it has created a sense of ungratefulness, it has become expected and no longer allows them to value what they own. If you have 12 Barbie Dolls, why do you care if one gets broken, if you have 10 baby dolls, why does it matter if you leave one in the rain, if you have a whole closet full of art supplies, why do you care if you leave all the paint out to dry up? There is always more, there is always a replacement. Things don't matter, you don't cherish what you have. I began to explain it to them, "If you only had 2 Barbie's would you think it was funny to break one?" I am guessing no. So it begins.... change.
We are cleaning out toys. My children are cutting their possessions in half and in some cases more. It has not been easy. Emma cried when I told her she had to get rid of over 25 stuffed animals that were piled up on her bed, she hugged and kissed each one as she packed it up. Lydia cried when I told her she could only keep 3 baby dolls and all the rest had to go. I felt bad watching them give up toys that had cost us a lot of money and games like Candyland, that they have outgrown, but that held sweet memories of when they were little. Emma and I both struggled as we sorted out her books. We love books! and it was hard to get rid of some of them. A book called Some Dog, that I remember holding her on my lap and reading to her, Little Golden books that she would sit and read to me cuddled up close, but it is time for them to go. She reads chapter books now, someone else can use those books, and toys, and dolls. Someone who maybe doesn't have anything.
Emma decided to donate her stuffed animals to the Shelter Home, for children who have had to leave abusive situations, sometimes with only the clothes on their back. Lydia wants to donate her books to the library for the children who can't afford books. We decided to give some dolls and toys to a little girl we know whose family just lost everything in a fire. I had given her a lot of clothes last week, but no toys. We decided toys would be good too. Luckily my girls have never really been brats over what they have, they have never expected things or had an attitude of entitlement, at least outwardly, but they have come to be ungrateful and unappreciative in their hearts. They have forgotten that someone took their time and effort to buy them these things because they are loved and because they care. They have forgotten that there are children the world over that would cherish and love just one doll, or one animal, or one crayon, who would never think about laughing if it broke or became lost.
So far Operation clean-up has been a success. My house is cleaner than it has been in 5 years. As their rooms get cleaner and more organized, my children are starting to enjoy parting with things, and everyone is happier. It is a difficult lesson to learn seeing as how this world and culture we live in tells us more is better, bigger is better and your success is measured by what you own. I am thankful that God has allowed this to be a time of teaching. Teaching our children about what it means to give and think about others needs ahead of our own. Teach them to appreciate what they have and to never take their blessings for granted. That our success comes in loving God, putting others before our selves and growing more like Christ. This is where our abundance should be, not in earthly possessions, in Christ! 
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Matthew 6:19-21