Our point of departure (Atlanta):  Spacious home, pool, abundance of clothes and stuff and lots of busyness in our lives.  Our point of arrival (Costa Rica for a year):  Much smaller home, very few clothes, personal items and personal commitments (at least initially).  For a bit more perspective, each member of my family brought two suitcases (< 40 lbs. each) with all their clothes, personal items, books, electronics, etc. – with four daughters in my house this deal wasn’t an easy sell.  On top of that we decided not to buy any new or replacement items while we are here.

We are now a few months into our adventure and have inevitably discussed things we don’t really miss, kind of miss or definitely miss.

Don’t really miss

• Clothes.  I brought enough clothes to fill 17” of hanging closet space and a handful of drawers.  While I occasionally think, “I wish I had brought xyz”, there is a peace in the simplicity of not having that many choices in the morning.  It was also very therapeutic while packing to give the majority of my stuff away, leave some in Atlanta and take a little bit down here.
• Our home.  We built our home and we love it, but are doing just fine in a smaller, furnished rental. I haven’t spent a minute fixing anything and due to size I am able to locate any family member within about ten seconds.
• All of our stuff.  I believe we are pretty good at giving stuff away if we no longer use it frequently, however, like most families we tend to be net accumulators over time.
• TV.  Aside from some CNN and the occasional cable show, I don’t watch much TV here.  I don’t miss the nightly news that is so full of murders, arrests, etc.  A caveat – I will likely revisit this particular bullet when football season begins.
• The overall busyness of our lives.

Miss, but could get used to doing without

• Knowing where things are.  Stores, restaurants, doctors, etc.  There is a sense of peace from being knowledgeable about your surroundings.  Probably not too long before I will be able to say this about my new home.
• How I feel every time I drive into my neighborhood.  It is beautiful & peaceful.
• Brightness after 6:00.  The sunset in Costa Rica varies from about 5:15 to 6:00 over the course of the entire year.  I find myself exhausted at what I think must be 10:00 only to find it is only 8:00.
• Street lights.  There are very few here and it is pretty dark at night.
• Street names/numbers.  There are very few named streets and most directions involve landmark locations.  That said, I was introduced to the best GPS tool I’ve used called Waze (http://www.waze.com) that has made things easier.

Truly Miss

• Our family.  We miss each of them dearly.
• 12Stone Church (http://www.12stone.com).  We are participating in the on-line services and are getting involved in a great local church here, but a live 12Stone campus is still home.
• Our dogs, who we were not able to bring with us.  We were blessed to have our dog trainers (Dawn & Karisha) graciously offer to take care of them.
• Close friends – i.e., those people with whom we regularly do life.
• Casual friends – i.e., friends we don’t get together with that often but when we do we always have fun and leave encouraged.
• My business partners and old friends at 4^th Strand.

Before leaving Atlanta I had a conversation with some of my best friends about how difficult a permanent move would be at this point in life with everything we have to be thankful for.  I hope that upon our return this is all the more evident and we find ourselves bursting with an appreciation that doesn’t fade over time.  Not for any of the “things” in our life as it turns out the only real “things” we miss are the important people and communities to which we belong.

Andy Stanley has said, “you will never know your most impactful leadership moments until well after the fact, and maybe not ever.”  I am very fortunate to be surrounded by great people who speak into my life continuously, even if they aren’t aware of this fact.  These people and the daily lessons I receive from them are the “things” I truly miss.

What are the “things” you could live without in order to reflect on the “things” you value most?  Or rather, what are the “things” in your life that might be clouding what you should value more?