Where She Got Rid of 520 Things--Or--The Year of Letting Go

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." ---Matthew 19:29

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Well, I did it. 

Spent a year, 52 weeks, getting rid of 10 things weekly. Five hundred twenty+ items flung away to the wind! Or, er, to the Salvation Army bin down the street or the trash can outside my back door.

Though I should clarify: when those annoying covid-19 lockdowns hit, I had 9 weeks left to go. And I stopped flinging. But when the whole world goes crazy you're allowed to put some things on hold if it aids your sanity.

You are. Just ask Grace. 

Those first covid months? Intense! Seems always I sat here listening to pundits then repeating their warnings. None of it tired me either because it felt Grace-led and she provides all strength needed. Also, the pundits (and teachers) spoke truth and truth sets us free. And freedom? Not burdensome if not mishandled.

Oh, and I majorly restocked my food prepper shelves. Got up often at 2 a.m. to scribble shopping lists and make online food orders. 

Go following Grace and you can do anything God asks of you, even during dark, silent mornings while alone. Even with joy.

But late August it all began to wane. The intensity lessened, shifted, and it felt like Grace said, "This phase is completed. Let's move on." And that's when I returned to (and finished) the discard 10 things weekly project.

My aim? To enjoy every single task, to dread or resent nothing. Weekly I anticipated filling a bag of cast-offs and I even tacked on another 6 months when I felt Grace say, "Honey, it's time to stop avoiding the basement and garage."

Oh, how much we accumulate and not just within our hands, either! 

This year also, at Grace's nudging, I gave up HGTV. Already I'd avoided episodes with gay couples (you know how God feels when people try to improve upon His creation of marriage, right?). 

But then when House Hunters threw in a 'throuple', well, that was the end. No more. I voiced my thoughts, then walked away after 9 years of consistent viewing.

This was huge for me. Only a handful of things in Life do I love more than houses and decorating and I imagined an HGTV boycott to feel like deprivation, but it didn't. I've not missed it.

What else did I fling away this year?

True-crime shows.

A couple friends.

Daily online peeks at local real estate.

Netflix. (I told Netflix their Cuties film was the last straw and shame on them!)

But here's something I know to be true: 

When God asks you to release something and you do? You feel Grace standing beside you more closely than you ever did before. And nothing you give away compares to that.

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Remember the old Monkees tv series? Did you know all episodes are available to watch on Youtube?

And yes, this show was very silly, but sometimes in a world-gone-serious, that just might be what we need for balance.

Speaking of the Monkees, I really enjoyed Jovaughn's reaction to I'm A Believer.

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Prepper Hint:

Ask Yourself These 4 Questions To Reveal Your Level of Preparedness

Oh! And my sister asked if I could post a general prepper list so I referred her back to ones I listed in December of 2015. Hopefully most of the links still work--the list covers nearly everything to help prepare you for anything (scroll down).

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"He leads me beside the still waters... He restores my soul."   ... from Psalm 23

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15