Most people don’t want their house to look like a used-toy warehouse,or like a garage sale exploded, but when it comes down to getting rid of the clutter, they just can’t let go. Why is it that we cling to items of no apparent value?  There are three reasons why most people hang on to things: Grief, thrift and denial. Check out this story. It might sound familiar to some of you.

Megan’s story…

Twenty-three years ago, when I was sixteen years old, my mom passed away. She was forty-six. Reality set in very quickly when my Grandma told my brother and me that we could take anything we wanted from the house. One of the first places I wandered into that day was my mom’s bedroom. There sat her purse, a reminder that “you can’t take it with you when you go.” Seeing my mom’s purse that day could not have been a bigger eye-opener for me. Although, I could’ve “taken” anything I wanted from my mom’s house to my dad’s house—to me it was just “stuff.” The memories were in a few precious things that I eventually kept—such as our pictures, my mom’s recipes, our Christmas ornaments, some of her piano music, (she was a piano teacher), and some of her jewelry.

I don’t miss any of the other stuff, because after all, I have those few special treasures that I will always cherish—those that give me the greatest memory. Why do I tell you this story? Because I had the opportunity to hang on to so many things that I did not “need” that would just take up space and that I would probably never use.

This story deals with holding on to things because of grief. I guess it shows that sometimes what one person sees as junk can be a real treasure to you. While we are busy with our spring cleaning, lets be sure we take out the trash, but save room for your memories. Everything doesn’t have to have a new coat of paint or be the latest and greatest. Some things can just be! Be thorough with your cleaning, but not so much so that the good gets tossed out with the bad. Somethings have more use than utility, and that’s OK.

Pastor Kenny
kenny@lwwconline.com