Simplicity

But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

This month we hope to move again. We'll be moving to our fourth home since we got married, less than two years ago. Sometimes I feel like Sarai, following Abram across the Middle East. "Pack up the tent again, honey; we're moving again." We went from a tiny attic-type-space apartment to a larger one downstairs in the same building to our current 2-bedroom, 900 sq-ft duplex. And now we plan to downsize again, looking to save some pennies (a lot of them, haha).

When we lived in the first building, we had countless boxes and tubs of stuff that I just didn't deal with. I was pregnant and tired and trying to figure out housekeeping, so I just shoved them away. They all got moved to this place with us, and we had so much more storage space that we just packed them away nicely. Now, a year later, I finally feel like I've gotten housekeeping down to a rational point, and we're about to move again. And I'm absolutely determined that we won't be taking one blessed thing with us that we don't need or want.

For about a month now, I've sorted and organized and decluttered. I've thrown away about 6 garbage bags full of stuff, and have about three big boxes set to go to consignment stores or to give away. It feels so good to sift and sort and just clean up.

I've never given a lot of thought to simplicity. But now I find myself really enjoying the freedom that comes with getting rid of stuff. Junk. Things that once were useful but no longer serve a purpose.

Things are just things. Some memories are fun to hang on to and will be interesting to our children one day, but other things can go. It's good to just have what we need, and no more. How wonderful to know exactly what we have, and where it goes, and not to mess with things that just take up room.

This exercise has helped me start letting go. My eyes now see through the lens of "Is this really important?" And as I look around me, nothing seems as valuable now as it did even a month ago. The important things are those of eternity - relationships. The time I spend with my son and husband, crafting and treasuring those relationships, as well as others in my life - that time - will last for eternity.

I want to have a loose grasp on all things temporal, and keep my eyes on Jesus and eternity.