What If You Lost Everything?

Having grown up in Virginia Beach, VA and now living in the panhandle of Florida, I am no stranger to the threat of hurricanes.

I’ll never forget canoeing down our street after Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Yes, I said canoeing. In a boat. On a street. (The kind with cars.)

A few years before we were stationed here in Florida, this area was hit with devastation by Hurricane Michael in 2018. Our friends we’ve made share stories of tremendous loss that still affects them emotionally, physically, and financially to this day.

Needless to say, everyone has the absolute right to take storm threats seriously, and to experience anxiety about the aftermath.

This week, we’re facing the potential of Hurricane Helene making landfall in the Florida panhandle, so it’s prep time:

Bottled water, flashlights, and hurricane shutters– to name a few things on the to-do list.

While I don’t have the anxiety my friends who went through Michael now contend with, I do feel the slight sense of panic: What if??

So I have to walk myself through the “What if” spiral – a technique I once learned to tame anxiety…though I can’t recall from where, exactly.

The idea is to continue answering those what if questions until the problem is resolved, thus squelching the nerves and fear.

What if we have to evacuate? We’ll pack up the van and go camping somewhere a few hours away. We’ll make sure to put up the hurricane shutters, bring essential documents, and trust that’s all we can do.

What if the hurricane hits our area? It might damage my house, and it might not.

What if it does damage the house? We will have to call the insurance company and sort through what is destroyed vs. what can be fixed.

What if we can’t live in the house anymore? We’ll take what we can out of the house and stay in a hotel or airbnb until we can find a rental somewhere. We’ll be grateful for the privilege of being able to afford that, even if it’s tight. We’ll be okay. Then once the house is fixed, we’ll sell it (because we’re moving next summer anyway).

What if everything we own has water damage? We’ll buy what we need to keep living, and can seek out lower cost items at thrift stores.

What if sentimental things are destroyed, like the baby books or stuff that was my mom’s? We will be sad, and also remember that our good memories exist outside of the stuff.

Answering these questions helps me remember the ultimate conclusion: If our family stays safe, we’ll ultimately be okay.

I’m so grateful that decluttering has given me the tools to have true perspective on what actually matters in life…and it’s not the stuff. Of COURSE we need basic shelter and provisions for survival, and we’re allowed to feel devastated if we experience tremendous loss.

However, for those of us who are Christians, there’s a level of faith to say “the things of this world are fleeting, and so long as we have the bare necessities, we truly don’t need the rest to find joy.”  I mean honestly…even many Christians without the bare necessities have found joy in Christ across the centuries.

Spiritual beliefs aside, there’s power in holding fast to the truth of what really matters in life.

Again, I’m not saying we’re being unfaithful or lacking perspective if we have anxiety or grief over the loss on a scale like this, however there is something to be said about peace that comes with developing a sense of self outside of what we own.

So today I hope you can look around your space and be grateful for the provisions you have, while also loosening any grip you have on things that can realistically disappear at the hand of a natural disaster.

What truly matters?

It’s in that question that can guide you toward what to keep in your life, physical and otherwise.