Sorting, tossing, selling, sharing, reminiscing, packing, storing. Our pre-departure downsizing has begun. What do we do with each item in a long inventory of “stuff?” “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure,” comes to mind as the family negotiates and compiles lists of things to take, get rid of and store. When the pioneers traversed the continent in covered wagons, they presumably had room for the kitchen sink had they been so inclined. Fortunately for us, Thailand does not lack in kitchen sinks. However, a limited baggage allowance means that many items on my I-might-need-that-someday list will not be going with us.

As I post a once-cherished item for sale on Craigslist or pack a box for Goodwill, I’m thinking of the broader implications for my Christian experience. The process of downsizing is allegorical to the narrowing of the Narrow Way that we have been taught to expect in the last days. It harkens back to the pioneers who had to lighten the load when facing steep mountain passes. The “baggage allowance” in the various phases before us on the path to heaven is of a diminishing nature. There will be no room for bulky grudges, weighty bad habits, cumbersome doubts, or distracting subscriptions. Physical downsizing will also be necessary as we face the apocalyptic challenges before us.

And so the mundane activity of downsizing has turned into an object lesson and a spiritual exercise. Not only are we preparing to enter the mission field, we are preparing for heaven. When we get to Thailand, we will find a new kitchen sink. When we get to heaven, we will receive things far beyond what our earthly ken provide—things that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard” (1 Cor. 2: 9). With that hope, downsizing is not so bad.

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