Letting Go

It is so hard to get rid of stuff.  You know what I mean, right?  When I take inventory of my surroundings, I sometimes feel a little claustrophobic.  That leads me to schedule a garage sale or donate to a local charity.  But as I am going through my things, I find myself having a hard time parting with them.  Not because I use them or even want them.  It is because of the memories they invoke or what they represent.

I recently have had several occasions to help friends with estate sales or downsizing.  It is easy for me to look at other peoples "stuff" and objectively make quick decisions regarding their value.  However, the monetary value rarely equals the emotional value things have to their owners.  Almost every item we own has a story and those stories are woven together to make us who we are. Parting with those items then becomes a symbol of parting with a piece of our lives.  Take for instance, a quilt that grandma made and passed down to your mother.  Over the years it became tattered and torn and eventually became the padding for your dog's bed when you were a child.  Now you are grown with children or grandchildren of your own and your dog has long since met his maker.  Your parents have passed on and it is your responsibility to sort through their "stuff".  You open a box you found tucked away on the top shelf of a closet and discover the remains of that old tattered quilt.  All the memories of a happy childhood and that dog you loved so much comes flooding back into your mind.  You remember your grandmother, the way she smelled, the way she laughed ; you remember your dog and what a faithful friend he had been to you as a child.  You may even shed a tear or two.  Now - reality check - a quilt's purpose is to provide warmth.  You would never use it on any bed in your house and you would be embarrassed to give it to anyone else.  But you want so badly to keep it.  Why?  Not because "it" has any value but because the memories it invokes are priceless.  

Helping people cope with releasing their  "stuff" is both heart-wrenching and rewarding.  My suggestion is to take a picture of the item and write your memory down.  Not only will you be able to recall and relive those memories when you see that picture but it will be written down and preserved for future generations.

Another situation I sometimes encounter is people who don't want to let things go because they might someday need them.  And it does seem true that every time I finally let something go, I need it the next week.  However, many times, we have things stored away and by the time we need the item, it has dry rotted or become so outdated that we don't want to use it...and that is only if we can put our hands on it.  Many times we can't even remember where we have stored it.  The bible tells us to lay up our treasures in heaven where moth and dust does not corrupt.  Once again, God is right.  As long as we live here on this earth, things will decay.  We surround ourselves with what we think are treasures, yet we will all leave them behind us when we die and eventually they will decay and return to dust too.  Do we really want to spend all our time taking care of things that have no eternal value or do we want to invest our time  and talents in things that will last for eternity?  I love beautiful things and I am thankful that God has blessed us with a world full of beautiful things.  I believe in having nice things and I am in no way suggesting that we shouldn't have "stuff."  I just believe we need to have balance in our lives.  Part of that balance, comes from realizing that things don't matter, people do.  Remember the story I mentioned earlier about the old quilt?  The quilt was not the issue, it was the memories of relationships that mattered.  When we are dead and gone, what we leave behind that really matters are not the material things but memories of how we lived our lives.