Purging!

I knew from the very beginning  of this Full-Time RVing decision that the hardest part would be purging and getting rid of all the stuff.  STUFF!  We had so much stuff! I had so much stuff in the walk-in attic that I couldn't even walk into the attic.  The upstairs rooms were full of stuff --boys' stuff, memorable stuff, family stuff -- clothes, shoes, pictures, stuff!  Stuff nobody was using.  Furniture that had been my parents' in the fifties, bedroom furniture that we had purchased as newlyweds, stuff, stuff, and more stuff!  The closets in every room were packed full of stuff that nobody needed or used anymore.  I can blame my family heritage and claim that I came from a family of "savers," because you just didn't know when you might need something.  But the truth is, I had been lazy to get rid of the things over the years that we didn't need -- that someone else might have need of.  I was a sinful hoarder -- sinful not only because we didn't need the things I tenaciously held onto -- but because I was also unsubmissive to my husband, who often reminded me that we didn't need half the things I was holding onto.  How does such a person begin this "purging" process?  By the grace of God alone.

Six months later, I was still purging and getting rid of "stuff!"  I would be delighted if I could claim this page as "confessions of a former hoarder," but alas, some sins are hard to part with!  I still love my stuff!  But I love it less than I used to.  I'm beginning to love -- yes, LOVE -- the freedom that comes with owning LESS.  Having fewer things to fret about and take care of!  Once we actually started living in the RV, we found reasons and ways to rid ourselves of even more stuff, and I'm loving more and more the freedom that comes with owning less and less.  While the hardest part may have been purging, the greatest blessing may come from the purging!  Sweet irony!