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closet

I am in serious downsizing mode. In this present house I have four bedroom closets plus a big storage room in which to squirrel away my various clothes, boxes, files, papers, extra chairs and blankets, games and puzzles, camera gear and all those things I think I might eventually find a use for. In the new place, I will have one average size bedroom closet. That's right. One. The smallness of the number smacked me square in the face last week when I was taking a second look at the property. I came home and realised I had to rethink my packing strategy.

Careful collecting was soon replaced by ruthless jettisoning. No more room to store the original boxes for every piece of sound gear, small appliance, computer accessory or piece of stereo equipment. No more setting things aside because of sentimental value (just pick one thing to keep and move the rest on to a better home). If I will not use it in the next year, it is gone. I am busy selling unusual items on ebay, including Dean's favourite velvet Elvis. My real estate agent (God bless her) put me in contact with people that claimed all of my gardening stuff and quite a bit of my trusty furniture that just wouldn't work in the new place. She also brought over a lady who snapped up my dishwasher and dehumidifier.

A few large items remain and if friends are not interested in acquiring them, they shall be offered on craigslist next week for a minimal fee. I won't need a garage sale. The few boxes of miscellaneous odds and ends that are left in my garage will find their way to the Salvation Army or some such charity.

Last week I was reminded of the story of the Israelites in the desert. Every day God provided them with food - manna. They could not store it up for the future but had to depend on their Creator for their daily provision. This is what the life of faith looks like. We abandon our compulsive hoarding and obsession with stuff and dependence on belongings. Instead of finding comfort in what we possess, we find comfort in being in the possession of a caring Father who will provide what is needed each day. How silly to think that my future will be more secure because of what I have in my closets. I don't need more storage space. I need more faith in my Provider.

This is a lovely bright house in Cuba . I think the inhabitants might know more about the rightful place of a closet than I do.
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Anonymous said…
Ah yes! It amazing what we don't need. Last year I drove through a subdivision of giant houses. From the outside it looked like a ghost. Then I drove through a neighborhood of tiny houses. People were in the yards, sitting on the porches, walking on the sidewalk, and talking with each other. Then I realized who was rich and who wasn't.
11:21 AM
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