My last post, the one about letting go by T.D. Jakes, reminded me that all those words apply to my things, too--my stuff and junk and belongings--and my books.
Oh dear, my books. Wow, to let go of my books is to experience a form of mental torture. And yet I regularly purge some of the books from my shelves yearly anyway. Why? Because:
1.) Hundreds of books take up a whole lot of shelf (and room) space,
2.) It's good discipline to release what you love,
3.) Just how many books does one person really need?
4.) Some people have never read even once the books I have reread 4 or more times so it's a good thing to pass books along to others by way of thrift shops and gifts to friends, and--
5.) Not all books are meant to be keepers. Some we won't read more than once--so why hold on to them?
And well, I'm still learning that just because I own something like dishes, furniture or gifts of trinkets from friends today, it does not mean I must hold onto all that stuff until I drop dead.
Our possessions perform a service and then, honest, it's ok to release them after that service has been provided. Often the test is not if we can forever hold onto our blessings, but rather, can we release them to others if God nudges us to do so?
Again, I am still learning all that. All of it, especially concerning books.
It's one thing to sing mighty hymns in a church pew--it's quite another to drive back home and spend hours discovering the words are actually true--and that God means us to live by them.
Imagine that.
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