I have been going through 60 years of clutter. It is not like the shows about HOARDING, but still it is a lot more than necessary. Over the past 5 years or so, I have managed to get it down to part of one room.
It is still a lot. The habits that got me to the point of collecting stuff that I now regard as pretty much useless have gone by the wayside as I have aged.
The stuff I thought I would save for my child for when he grew up and married has pretty much been pared down to what I gave him and his new wife for a wedding present. The broken toys I kept to fix when I had the time have finally (after 25 years) been discarded. The material I bought to make him some play clothes will either be sold in my yard sale or made into something very different. As time passed and several moves around the country took place, stuff got packed away only to resurface long after the need for it had passed. So, now I have it and knowledge. I have the knowledge that it is no longer needed.
About 15 years ago, we had a bonfire. We were burning debris from the lot that we acquired for our trailer. My spiritual life had taken a turn for the better in February of 1992. I came to know THE LORD JESUS CHRIST as my personal Saviour. It was now March 1993. When the fire was started, I added books to the mix and there were many, about 6 moving boxes full and more. Most were science fiction and there were other non-Christian books as well. I even had a satanic bible.
As the fire started burning, my husband got a call to go to work. There was a 10 foot or more wide fire break around the stuff being burned. The pile itself was about 20 feet in diameter and probably 6 feet or higher in the middle. If you have ever burned a stack of paper or books, you know that they have to be separated in order to burn completely. There was no cause for concern about the fire getting away from the lot nor burning anything down and my in-laws said they would watch the fire for us since they lived next door to the empty lot.
We were not able to stay and watch the fire, but I was going to go back the next morning to check on it and restart it. I knew all those books would not be burned completely. When I arrived the next morning, there was nothing there. It did not even look like anything had been burned. There were no books, no portions of books, there was nothing left, not even an ash pile.
My assumption, after quizzing everyone who lived next to the property, was (and still is) that THE LORD sent a HOLY fire which consumed everything. No one saw the fire that consumed. It was amazing. It was unexplained. No fire department put out the fire. It simply came. It burned what was necessary. It did the job and stopped. There was no explosion. There was no wind. There was no rain. There was not a cloud in the sky for days. There was nothing remarkable except that it happened.
My heart wanted to rid my self, my mind and my heart of the trash that I had accumulated. I wanted to obey THE LORD and keep the distracting things of the world away from me and I could not in good conscience give those books away nor could I donate them to the library. If they were not fit for me to keep, they were not fit for anyone else, particularly the unsaved.
Somehow, I have lost that single-minded desire. I have not strayed into sin, but still the first blush of new love has left and it is tough to regain. I know whom I love, but the flesh is weak. The Spirit longs for the time spent with my Saviour, learning about HIM, following HIM. I allowed too much to come between us. It was work. It was family. It was even church work. I had less and less time for HIM.
Scripture tells us that the time will come when there is a falling away. I often wonder exactly what that means. I have heard several explanations, but I wonder if it is not more personal.
I must return to my purging. Maybe that will help rid myself of wasted time.
Shalom. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
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