purging...

I wanted to wait to start actually blogging/journaling til I could make myself a pretty blog, but I'm just not tech smart enough, and I keep putting off messing around with it to try to figure it out...oh, well.



I wanted my first entry to be really amazing...haha...not so much. This isn't a special day of any sort, and it's not like I have had this epiphany that I just must share with whoever chooses to read. My morning was busy with budgeting for April, responding to emails and trying to decide what I would indulge in for lunch. But I've had this nagging in the back of my mind that I really should be home purging, organizing and cleaning, because we are hoping to put our house on the market whenever I make it look desirable for a buyer.



So I chose leftover chili, but had to make myself a pan of cornbread to make me be excited about it. Then I dove into the basement laundry room first. We have a young 20's guy living in our basement, and he would maybe just die if he could see it right now. I only stopped cause I had to go pick Kami up at school:), so thought I'd have a diet coke break and write while I wait for the other girls to be done.



I pulled a ton of crap out of the disgusting (under the stairs) laundry/storage room... long lost Christmas decor, exercise videos (hilarious), old old pictures of my dad's family, ultrasound pictures of the girls, and ewe ewe ewe lots of mouse droppings and, yes, a decaying mouse carcas...blah, gag, gross! I was a little grossed out to also find a remnant of umbilical cord that fell off of one of the girls...kinda weird (oh, I should explain it was in a baggie in a memory box, not just randomly on the floor).



I chucked all kinds of junk, but found some forgotten treasures...my wedding dress (one of these days I'll have to try it on as ugly as it is...), two rubbermaids of little outfits my girls wore that I just haven't been able to part with, old picture albums from my high school and college days and journals from my teen years...very funny what seemed to be so important then, and how insignificant that all is now. It was such a good feeling to puruse through these things.




My life has been rich and full with God's protection all over it. My mind began to swirl through the many different seasons these items represented, and I just needed to pause to say, "thank you" to God. I guess there have been tough times, but those times have not defined me. God's goodness, His faithfulness, His promises and His perfect timing are what I was reminded of today. I just cannot fathom a lifetime of not knowing I can rest in the hope of Jesus. He has come to give me life to the full, and, yes, I have seen the enemy come in to try to kill, steal and destroy, but while he has come close to succeeding in his mission God has been my peace and strength.




I'm glad I took time to clean out a nasty dirty storage room today... It's so good to remember.