This past weekend, two of our adult children were on hand to weed through our garage.  At every turn there was another box of costumes or wood for sculpting.  My son graciously loaded up the back of his pickup with the larger pieces of wood to store in his garage.  It soon became apparent that there was no way we had even made a slight dent in our downsizing.

It brought to mind the times that we moved both of our mothers from big homes to much smaller ones and how we tossed anything we thought was unnecessary.  I had no idea how hurtful this was to these women.  I can see it now that I’m the one watching a lifetime of memories and things that identified who we are, being discarded.

Both of our moms learned to live without those things and I’m convinced we will do the same.  It’s a necessity.  We’re moving from a 2400 square foot, four bedroom to one that’s less than 1000 square feet.  There is no way we will be able to pack all our stuff into that little house.

We have less than two weeks until we move.  We can’t even give this stuff away.  Maybe we could have a huge bonfire or leave a large donation at some charity.  It all makes me think of Jesus words about leaving all our worldly goods behind and following Him.  We shouldn’t be encumbered with material things.  We shouldn’t hang on to things that hold us tightly in their grasp.

This entire process has taught me some huge lessons.  I’ve finally learned that nothing is in our control.  We are being led by God’s divine hand and His plans are so much better than any we can come up with.  I’ve learned that stuff is only stuff.  It doesn’t define who we are – only God can do that.  I’ve learned that there are many, many really good friends who are going through similar times.  I’ve been educated in the fact that even though change is difficult, we can still look forward with great anticipation to whatever lies ahead, even if we don’t have a clue what that might be.  I’ve gotten used to the idea of living in an old farm house, dated 1885, with only one bathroom on the main floor.  We’ve even talked about designing a chair lift with a porta-potty attachment.   So many adventures lie right around the corner.

I’ve also learned that we can’t take things too seriously.  God has a sense of humor and He wants us to be happy.  He’s promised to give us all we need and He’s done that for a lifetime.  In the meantime, continue to keep us in your prayers as we approach crunch time.