The Woman Who Was Swallowed By Stuff

Do you ever think about how much time and energy we expend to maintain our stuff?  We buy our stuff, wash our stuff, move our stuff, dust our stuff, pack our stuff, put away our stuff, sell, give, and throw away our stuff.  Sometimes I feel like the stuff runs my life!

I have lost count of the number of hours I have spent the last couple of weeks preparing for a garage sale.  I have been digging through those nooks and crannies where seldom-used stuff likes to hide.  A person could barely move through my office because that is where all the stuff took up residence until it could move out to the lawn.

My husband and I finally unpacked boxes that have been untouched since we moved into this house...2 1/2 years ago.  We had three piles: garbage, sell, and HOLY CRAP!  I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR THREE YEARS!  I think only two items made it into the latter pile.  The rest went to the dump or into the garage sale.  We ended up with a whole room worth of stuff we don't want or have any use for any longer.

How much time, money and energy have I wasted on all this junk?!!!  There were boxes worth of stuff that we took the time to pack at our old house and move into the new house and we never even unpacked it!  As I look over the pile of stuff that has consumed so much of my time the last couple of weeks, I realize I am just going to be so glad to be rid of it!  I am beyond caring if I make much money at my garage sale.  I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  It is so cleansing to be rid of the clutter!

I realize that I need to purge the junk from my life more often.  We can be swallowed up by the things we fill our lives with, if we allow it.  We live in a world where more is still never enough.  Jesus warned us against such things in Luke 12:15: Then he said to them, "Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."

I am so grateful that my family has been blessed with all we could ever need as well as some nice possessions.  As I have worked hard the last several days, I have realized that my things may be possessing me instead of the other way around.  It is time to take back some of my time, energy, and square-footage.  Stuff will rule me no longer!!!