Lots of boxes are cluttering my guest bedroom right now. The spare bed that I have been borrowing has been picked up and returned to its owner. The cupboards and drawers in the kitchen are starting to look very empty. And my walls look extremely bare right now. I also have taken several bags to the dumpster and have a pile to be taken to the local thrift store.

Having a pile ready for the thrift store means that I have been “purging” as I have been packing my boxes. For some reason, it feels so good to get rid of stuff that I don’t need or haven’t used since I moved in here six years ago. Under my bathroom sink, there must be like 15 bottles of body lotion. Pure insanity! I don’t imagine that I will take them all with me when I leave. But I do hope that I can share them with a friend or two. I hate throwing full and half opened bottles away. It just feels so wrong when so many around the world dont have the luxuries that I/ we have in the world.

There is something so incredibly life-giving about purging. I need to purge everything else in my life; the busyness etc so I can spend more time with God and not be so focused on other stuff. Perhaps we need to have a spiritual purge; purging everything else so that we can spend more time with God. I think after I move and get settled I am going to purge more of the unnecessary stuff in my life so I can more consistently spend time with God. You would think that working in a church that I spend enough time with God. But what I have realized is that I am God at encouraging it in others etc but I dont always take the time to pray for myself..and talk to God about my hopes and fears.