The process of going through stuff and trying to decide what to keep and what to donate began. There were sixty years worth of things to go through. Things that belonged to his parents, things that belonged to him not to mention my stuff and the girls.
Can I tell you all how hard it was to give up things like my Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit book that I got as a baby shower gift when I was having my first baby( she is now 25) and so many other books from when my girls were little? There was vintage Christmas decorations that belonged to my in-laws, items Tim's maternal uncle sent his mom from when he was in World War II, old dishes and more. We even found an old rationing card that belong to his mom which is also from World War II.
When were going through all the items in the house we were just couldn't believe we had so much (for lack of a better word) junk. We rented those U-haul pod things that you pack and U-haul comes and and takes them away and drives them to your destination. Since we didn't have a home to move to when we left California we used U-haul storage. We rented about three pods(we all couldn't fit in a moving truck) plus a large trailer. We also rented a large dumpster for things that were either too worn out or broken.
We got rid a lot of things we didn't need but it was very difficult. What's even more is we were still packing and loading pods the week we were moving. Actually the day escrow closed and we were supposed to be out of the house we were still packing and loading pods. We were even stuffing things into our car which at the time was a Mountaineer.
We had so much stuff we weren't willing to let go of we ran out of room in the pods and trailer. Now this is the shameful confession. As a result there were many items that got left. Things like a large toaster/convection oven, my microwave oven, artwork on the walls and some furniture and who knows what else.
Now sitting in our garage in our current home there are boxes and bins in the garage that I have never unpacked that will probably never make it into the house such as my porcelain dolls I got when I used to sell Avon back in the late 1990s. As I type this I'm looking at all the stuff we brought to our new home and I ask myself "Why did we bring that?"
So now after reading Biblical Minimalism, I realize we really need to rethink our "stuff". I have to ask myself "Why do I need to hold on to all the Keepers at Home magazines or An Encouraging Word magazines?" "Do I really need all those teacups?" And don't get me started on the bags of yarn and fabric AND sewing patterns I will never use.
Does any of this stuff glorify God? Can I bless someone else with some of this? Oh and did I mention duplicate kitchen utensils? 😮
I'm learning that none of this "junk" is important when it comes to eternity. We can't take any of these things to heaven. And besides who wants to be tripping over a bunch of useless items in heaven anyway.
I think I've rambled long enough. I just want to share my story and I hope it will serve as a warning to me and anyone who may be struggling with excess.
I'm extending the giveaway to Wednesday. There's much going on with my family and church family so I haven't had time to collect names. If you'd would like to have a chance to be entered to win a signed copy of Cheryl Smith's book Biblical Minimalism enter here
Apologies if this post is disjointed and subjects are out of order. As a former homeschool mom, If I were turning this in for a grade I'd give myself a C or possible a D.
