Monday check in <3
I am having a slow start and a late post but stopping in to say hi is part of my day…so …
Hi
Hope you had a great weekend.
We certainly packed in a full agenda of time with family and friends and now I am regrouping and making a plan of attack for the piles and stacks and 935 emails I hope to whittle down this week.
I have a couple of friends who hyperventilate when they see the number highlighted in red next to the email icon on my phone.
They have no idea that buried down there in the first 50 or so of those are from 2012 when Rachel would send me photos of Graham and the only way I had to save them was to email them to myself with plans to download to computer at some point.
I know.
I am not a well person….
As in, when people ask what I would grab if our house was on fire…the thought “everything” comes to mind.
I am not a hoarder but I do tend to have a slightly unhealthy attachment to anything that is associated with a memory of the people I love.
Clothing items, books, stuffed animals…photographs, voicemails, text messages.
I struggle with deleting, pitching, purging because I have an irrational fear that the memory attached to the item will be lost in the process.
I truly believe that is one of the reasons God gave me more than one each of children and grandchildren and has richly blessed me with an abundance of excellent friends.
I can’t possibly hyper manage and hold on to all the memories, details and souvenirs of the love He has poured into my life through people.
I can’t neatly scrapbook a life that seems to continue to fill up and spill over faster than I can organize the memories.
My flesh wants it all laid out where I can touch it, feel it, taste it…rehearse it, go over it in detail…all the moments replayed on a loop….but God just keeps adding fresh good things…tearing out old things…replacing…renewing…restoring…repositioning…and never just repeating the same old stuff He has already done.
He is about doing the new thing.
And I truly can’t receive it with fists clenched tight trying to hold on to the past.
How about you?
Do you struggle with the memories attached to the things?
Or are you one of those incredibles who lives holding lightly the temporal?
Would love to know…leave a comment and I will save it F.O.R.E.V.E.R. Just kidding…but I will save it as long as the internet lasts.
Have a productive Monday and check back tomorrow because I want to share a new thing God has me doing that is really helping me store up a treasure that doesn’t cause clutter and is truly blessing me with eternal fruit <3
It’s a daily struggle for me as well, Laura. I wish I could depart with these items that hold so many memories for me without such anxiety. Your message today reassured me I’m not alone in this struggle.
Thank you Mary. No – you are definitely not alone. I shared a little instagram post later in the day about how God blessed me when I unclenched my hold on a couple of items I didn’t want to part with. I felt a thousand pounds lighter driving home from the Salvation Army!!!
I understand this… I’ve still got my brother’s contact information in my phone even though he passed away about 9 years ago. It just seems wrong to delete him.
Oh yes. I understand. I just tucked the pictures from my mom’s wallet that she carried and a couple of business cards she has jotted some notes in shorthand on into my dresser drawer. Just couldn’t part with those…nope…can’t “delete” that contact…he is still in your heart <3
I loved this post, but I love all your posts. Yes, I hold on to dear memories not just in my mind but in the tangible. I still have Mom’s blouse I remember her wearing..a lot… and Dad’s old jeans and 50 year jacket on the Mt. Zion Fire Department plus some of our kids clothing from when they were babes. And from our trip to Israel…a precious bottle of water from the Sea of Galilee and a tiny flower from the Garden of Gethsemane . These are just a few reminders of why I should be thankful for all that He’s blessed me with and yet, I’m so thankful He is renewing and refreshing my life with new, yet to be made memories. Thank you, Laura!
Loved this – thank you for sharing. Yes…those little things are precious reminders. I always pray for God to help me know what to keep and what to give. He is faithful and He understands our hearts <3
Love you!
<3 you Kenny...and all you hold dear
Thanks, Laura. I needed to hear this. Have a blessed day.
wow…well then that was God speaking to you because He and I had a small discussion about that post and if it really needed to be out there today …. thanks for encouragement <3