Especially after the holidays, you know it can sometimes be hard to walk through the house...or the basement...or the garage. Wrapping paper, new fun stuff, it's all just part of the season. However, I found that more and more all year long, I could not walk through my house with my three little mess makers constantly pulling EVERYTHING out again so it looked like Christmas morning 365 days a year. One year ago, I hit the wall of "ENOUGH!" Since then, I have gotten rid of 71 large garbage bags of stuff from our modest 1200 square foot home. We also have pruned away one couch, a piano, a bakers rake, a bench, several large riding toys, a plastic playground, and hmmmm I can't even remember what else is missing! The lovely retired gentlemen at the Catholic charities know me well. And I feel like my home is suddenly enormous even with three runners constantly racing at high speeds through the rooms. They can run without tripping, well most days. I cannot tell you how much I love my new home. And we have not missed anything yet (even if we do, we'll get over it LOL). The sad truth is that I still have more to go. Bag # 72 is ready to be dropped off and I still have more closets to go through. The reality that I needed to face is a very simple truth you and I both know. God provides. We can strive and worry and save and work, but the truth remains that God is the one who provides. And the stuff doesn't provide security. Instead, it became for me smothering. I saved anything someone gave me in the thought that I might someday use it. Or I did not want to offend the giver or make my children unhappy. None of these things have happened. And even if someone was upset, they will get over it. It wasn't the last item in existence and people are more important then things away. This experience in sharing has brought me to my knees in repenting for trusting in stuff, overestimating our needs, and underestimating God's ability to provide in the future.
What habits have you changed in seeking a simpler life?
