Letting Go of My Stuff

Though troubling to watch, television programs about hoarders challenge me to deal with my clutter.  I don't have a group of wonderful people to come along side me to clean out, but I’m beginning to look around and see that I have some problem areas to address.  I know that there are other people like me, in my situation. Perhaps I can help someone else while I am in the process of helping myself deal with my stuff.  My goal is to declutter my life, and have more spirituality in my life. 

Remember when the wealthy young man asked Jesus what he had to do to get to heaven? He didn’t like the answer he got and it never sat well with me either.  Jesus answered by telling the young man to give all of his possessions away.  As I read this story again, I see an amazing thing.  Jesus tells the rich young man to obey the commandments and the young man lights up like a candle saying, “Yes, Yes, I’ve done that all my life.”  The very next words in the Bible are these:  Jesus looked at him and loved him.  Don’t we all just want that, to be loved? I am glad to know that when we come to Jesus with all our frail intentions and actively seek him out, even when we don’t get it, he still just loves on us.  That makes me just want to weep.  Wait. I am weeping.  I notice, too, that Jesus didn’t tell the rich young man to give all his stuff away like I thought he did….Jesus said to sell it and give the money to the poor.  Now maybe as I’m de-cluttering I should be figuring out how to sell things on EBay at the same time.  It is a biblical directive.  I will do it.

Missing New Tripoli

Now that she has her driving license, I'm missing going to the stables with my daughter.  I used to take my paints and sit on a hill and watercolor a landscape.  I thought of this as I drove up route 100 yesterday, marveling at all the beautiful country that still exists in housing-less pockets. It was especially pretty at around 8:45pm.  There was a brightness right above the mountain tree line, and then a blanket of dark clouds above the brightness like the night was wringing out the day.