Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

Don't Give Me That "Stuff" Column for the week of June 23-29, 2002

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One of my most favorite words in the English language is "stuff." It's just so versatile. Did you ever look it up in Webster's? It has a bazillion meanings: material possessions, supplies, equipment, bullets, personal property, textiles, literary or artistic production, ideas of little value, trash, an unspecified kind of matter, scattered miscellaneous articles, talk, actions, construction material, subject matter, something consumed in the body, special knowledge or capability, a great baseball pitch, cram in, fill up, thrust, and the list goes on and on.

People got lots of "stuff." People strut their "stuff." People know their "stuff." People show their "stuff." People pick their "stuff" up and put it away. People spread their "stuff" all around. Honored baseball pitchers have what is known as tremendous "stuff." People buy "stuff." People sell "stuff." People have the "stuff" of greatness. Some people "stuff" their heads with knowledge. In fact a little knowledge can be heady "stuff." People "stuff" their faces. People "stuff" their pockets. People "stuff" their bags. People "stuff" their birds. Some people are "stuffed" shirts. People dish out "stuff" in conversations. Some people take that "stuff" from others and some people don't. And all people go through "stuff" they don't want to go through. "Stuff" happens.

At times we all wish we had other people's "stuff" instead of our own. People in Silicon Valley got lots of "stuff" and sometimes their "stuff" looks better than our "stuff." Some people had to give up a lot of "stuff" because of the recession. Some of us carry around a lot of excess emotional and psychological "stuff" that weighs us down and prevents us from making the progress we'd like to make. Sometimes the "stuff" others are going through doesn't seem as hard as the "stuff" we're going through. But one thing is for sure. All people got "stuff" they have to put up with. No one goes through life without dealing with "stuff," no matter how charmed you may think someone else is.

God never promised us we wouldn't have "stuff" to deal with or "stuff" to go through. However, He did say He would be there with us. Hebrews 13:5 says that we should be content with such "stuff" as we have for God said He would never leave us or forsake us. Psalm 37:39 says that God is our strength when bad "stuff" happens. Proverbs 11:28 says that those who trust in their "stuff" will fall, but those who trust in God won't.

When people have God, they can take just about any old "stuff" this world throws at them. Only God has the right "stuff" to help us in our time of need. Only God can help us keep our perspective when "stuff" happens. And I happen to think my "stuff" is personalized just for me. God said that He'd never give me more "stuff" than I could handle. So when people ask me if I want some of their "stuff," I just say, "No, thanks!" I got plenty of "stuff" of my own.

©June 2002

Be sure to visit this page every week to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bydahlgren@aol.com.