Out with the old

    This is a good day to check the closets, time to move the summer clothes down to the guest room closet for the winter and to move the winter clothes up. One year I did that and immediately we had Indian summer so hope that works again. The act of moving clothes takes a while as I look over each piece of clothing to see if it is in good condition and if I did indeed wear it at all this year. It is time to get rid of a lot of clothing that just takes up precious room in my closet. Time to give it to the Salvation Army perhaps. When I was librarian at our church years ago I recall a book that said it is a sin to keep good clothing that you don't wear because there are people that need it. I try to keep that in mind but I am a person that has worn the same size for probably 20 years and I take good care of my clothing so even though it is older it still looks like new. But I must remember what I read and take it to heart. When Don and I decided to sell our home and go rving full time it meant getting rid of things we had for years. That is a hard thing to do because many of our things had memories attached to them, but it was a cleansing move. You never realize how much junk attaches itself to you and fills up your space. All those boxes on shelves what do they contain? If they were truly something we cherish we would have them out where we can see them not tucked away gathering dust. Boxes of kitchen gadgets that we were sure we would need but only used once and boxed because it took up space in our kitchen drawer. Boxes of Christmas ornaments and lights that no longer light up, old books no longer read, etc and etc. Yes it was a freeing moment to get rid of so much unneeded things. Perhaps it is also time to clean our spiritual closet too, tossing out old grievances and grudges. Sweeping out our dusty thinking so that we can see more clearly to make good choices and making room for God to work in our lives. God has His way of cleaning too, for many years ago when I received Him as Lord and Savior he did just as his word said in 2 Corinthians 5: 17  Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. God swept away the old sins and made me new again, a fresh beginning. What a blessing to not have the burden of sin cluttering up my life.