Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Purging Brings Freedom!

What are all our closets and cupboards filled to overflowing with?  How many fancy bowls, Tupperware containers, old bedding, or blue T-shirts do we need?  Why do we hang on to things?  Sentimental value?  A rainy day?  Just in case.......or security?

We've been sorting and purging here. Well, mostly I am sorting and purging, since Joel finds this process a bit challenging. He's working on it!  It is amazing what you can let go of when you know you are moving 2,000 miles away into a house with no basement.  We don't have a house yet, but homes in that part of the country do not have basements.  Storage is limited.

Abraham and Sarah packed up when they were around our age, heading out into the desert at God's direction.  Sound familiar?  The old...the desert...the "go" from God.  I wonder if they spent time sorting and purging before strapping on their sandals and heading out.  Did they struggle with the process?

I went through the linen closet yesterday.  Why was I hanging on to old sun-faded green drapes?  Those flannel top sheets for a twin bed?  We haven't had a twin bed for at least 15 years.  And then there are the threadbare towels that we might be able to use for rags.  Except we already have two big tins full of more rags than we will ever need!  So, I took a deep breath, put on some praise music, and went to work.  Before long I had a big pile for the goodwill, a very small pile for the linen closet and extra space on the shelves to put everything in order. 

I have already tackled my closet and Joel is working on his.  I've gone through the large cupboards in the dining room, sorting, purging, and boxing as I go along.  I like this sorting and purging business.  It feels good to get rid of stuff that has just been taking up valuable space.  It is somehow freeing.

Speaking of freeing, I have shared here before that Joel and I use the Sozo Ministry techniques to help bring about inner healing.  It is a Christian, Holy Spirit guided ministry that quickly releases issues for people. When I began having flashbacks of repressed childhood memories, God guided me to this ministry, and I experienced the release of past abuse and trauma so quickly I was all in.  There is no way I want to hang on to soul wounds that take up space and keep me from living a great life, so this week when an "issue" rose to the surface I scheduled a Sozo session with my favorite cowboy preacher. 

Sozo is not much different than the sorting and purging I have been doing here in our closets and cupboards.  God wants us to live a whole and healthy life and often "stuff" from our past get in the way.  Not only in our relationships with others, but also our relationship with God. When we are able to sort through and purge those experiences in life that cause us to walk with an emotional limp, it is soooo freeing.  God is a good God and He wants good for us.  Sorting and purging is part of that goodness because through the process freedom comes.

"It is for freedom that Christ set us free,
so stand firm then,
and never again be burdened
by a yoke of slavery or bondage."
Galatians 5:1 

I'm linking up today with Bonnie over at Faith Barista.  
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1 comment:

Anita Johnson said...

I am purging too...I also find it freeing.