…the parched land shall become a pool, and the thirsty lands springs of water…(Isaiah 35:7)

Letting Go

Cleaning House

By Rex Goode

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messIt has been a very long time since I’ve posted anything. Things are very hectic around here. We are rearranging our house to make room for some family members that need a place to stay for awhile. I can’t believe how much stuff I have accumulated.

I have an office in the house and it was full of good intentions, things I’ve meant to work on and accomplish. I wouldn’t say that I’m a hoarder. I don’t like a mess. I really like space more than I like obstacles, but when you don’t have nearly as much money as you’d like, it’s hard to let go of something that is no longer a priority.

Even harder to accept is recognizing that there are some things I’d love to do but am just not going to get around to them, at least not in the foreseeable future. It’s strange to talk about the past and the future in the same thought, but most of the plans I’ve made, that are now represented by the stuff I’ve collected, are plans of the past that never made it into the present and may never be realized in the future.

Yet, if there is a theme of my life, it is accepting things that cannot be changed. I live it and I preach it. Not accepting things that can’t be changed leads to deep depression and regret. I see it so much in people I know who are stuck in their problems. They can’t accept that past abuses happened, that life is difficult by design, and that you can’t wish a bad past away.

I’m looking right now at a big bin full of junk. On top of it is a Frisbee-like toy I bought at a dollar store. I bought it because I thought it would be a good activity for clients, to go to the park and play Frisbee. Couldn’t get any of them interested in it. So, now I have to decide that it isn’t something I’m likely to use any time soon. Out it goes. If someday, I find I need one, I can always buy another.

So, I look at the things I’ve got to sort out and decide about. With each item, I have to make a decision about whether to keep it. More than that, I have to let go of the plan it represents.

I’m dividing things into four categories: keep, put in storage, throw away, and donate to Deseret Industries. No, I am not going to have a yard sale.

So, I look at the things I’ve got to sort out and decide about. With each item, I have to make a decision about whether to keep it. More than that, I have to let go of the plan it represents.

My life is like that. I have enough past to fill a warehouse, but some things just need to be tossed out and let go of.

 

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