I had a garage sale this weekend. I wonder at some of the things I have acquired over the years. Wonder why I kept it, that is. There were several items I can remember buying just a few years, and in some cases, months ago. For some reason, I thought they were things I couldn’t live without at the time. So dire was that need apparently, that I don’t feel a wrench as I write “25 cents” on a fluorescent sticker and place it on a handbag that cost me $30.
I know why I have kept all that stuff, rather why I “keep” stuff. It’s mostly because I don’t want to let go. Most of the items in this sale are things I’ve had for a very long time: a little doll someone gave me on my birthday, the scarves my grandmother used to keep in her drawer, some trinket I picked up in Scotland. They all connect me to someone or something, some place in time—someone, something, some place I hope to experience once more. I suppose that somewhere inside I feel that if I let go of these things, I am giving up that hope of return. I know that isn’t necessarily true, but it’s something I’ve always wrestled with.
There comes a time when you just have to let go, be it an item you’ve outgrown, the dream of a distant country, or a relationship you hoped to one day restore. Too often we hold on to things long after we’ve had to give them up, long after they have in whatever manner let go of us. Myself, I have spent hours, days, years even lamenting decisions I have made, friends I have lost, places in time that are gone forever except in my memory. “Why?” I wonder now. “Why did I hold on for so long . . . to something that wasn’t holding on to me?” Letting go doesn’t minimize the significance of an event or person in our lives. God closes the door on aspects of our lives so that we can focus on what He has planned for us, which is usually better than anything we could conceive ourselves. It’s still hard, though.
I resolved not to make any New Year’s resolutions this year. But since everyday in Christ is New Year’s Day, I’m resolved to work on not holding on to things that aren’t holding on to me. I want to stop being consumed by all that I can’t leave behind and be ready for what God has in store for me. It’s a good thing every day is New Year’s Day because it’s going to take a lot of New Year’s Days to get this one down.
8 comments:
I'm one that hangs on to things. I used to hang on to straws ... napkins ... rocks .... leaves ... anything that might help keep some memory alive. I relied on those things to help me remember. To keep me from forgetting I was there.
The problem was ... like you said ... many of those memories were really things I needed to just let go of. If I had to have that napkin to be able to remember then maybe it wasn't a memory I needed to hold on to.
I'm also glad that every day is New Year's day ... I've got some letting go to do myself and if I was waiting until January to try it just might be too late.
Thanks Lisa ... for your heartfelt thoughts ... and for selling some of my stuff too.
I think there is a pack rat somewhere inside each of us.
Maybe Pack Rat is not a very nice expression.
Maybe we should be referred to as memory keepers, treasure keepers. We keep things that represent a special time or place or person.
What is wrong with that really?
Unless of course we can not shut the closet door, then I guess it becomes a problem.
Have you ever sold something in a garage sale, or thrown it away, finally let it go, and then have regrets about it? I have. The 25 cents I got was not worth giving it up.
I know we can't take it with us, but somethings represent our history.
I have memory boxes for me and Lynn and each of my children.
Some of the boxes are really big.
Somethings I will never give up, and they will not mean a thing to anyone else but me. No one may ever know what that trinket meant to me, why I kept it, or who gave it to me. But when I see it, I think of that person or place and it brings me comfort.
Not the kind of comfort I get from knowing Jesus and having Him beside me, but a comfort that kind of grounds me and represents that I was here, where I have been, and when I can not hold his hand or talk to my dad any longer, I can look at a little gift he gave me when I was a kid and know that he loved me and wanted to give me some little something that made me smile that day.
Things like that are worth more than gold or 25 cents.
But Lisa, don't let me keep you from getting rid of old purses.
Celia
Life memory things are keepers...impulse purchases are not! hehehe
I am a big-time "keeper". A lot of it is things from my children, or things from my childhood. But some of it is just stuff I don't want to get rid of. My desk at work is full of stuff. My closet is full of boxes full of stuff.
I did have a big garage sale when I got divorced and moved. So that was my "cleansing" for quite a while!!
Isn't it a blessing to have a chance to begin again every day? To get a new chance to learn the lessons from God?
The neat thing is that the things that you got rid of can create a new memory for someone else. Luckily, they happen to love dolphin fountains!
And, if you think about it, you don't need any stuff to keep a memory alive. You have a steal trap for a memory! One of the many things I love about you!
I like to think I am sentimental, But I get rid of lots of stuff. Jeff actually saves things a little better than I do. He has helped to balance me. I usually feel like the more I can get rid of the cleaner I can make things, and I did have a memory box at one time, but I would go back and be like, "why did I keep this pop cycle stick? Or this paper airplane?" I do have a rule that if I cannot remember why it is sentimental it is gone. I know there is a happy middle, but I do enjoy how it feels to go through a drawer or closet and have a big get rid of bag, and a clean space (clean for a week anyway). We love you
Happy Passover. Thank you for lunch. It is a great day to be healed by God and free
I've managed to cut some strings on this last move (including some high school t-shirt that I had intended to make into a quilt), but we still have waaaay too much stuff.
Let's hear some more deep thoughts....
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