This has been what the last two days have looked like. Nothing at all at what I was expecting. I had given long talks to my kids about what we were going to be doing, how to handle their emotions while going through our belongings, and we talked about trusting God through all things. We talked at length that Jesus is all we really need. My daughter even found us a theme verse for the week: John 13:7, You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will. Pretty appropriately sums up the situation, I think!
I was expecting tears. My own and theirs. I was expecting tantrums and power struggles and generally unhappy kids, but the past two days, I have seen very, very little of any of this. And no tears to speak of. We have worked incredibly hard but we have also had a really good time together. We have laughed, joked and enjoyed searching through boxes and reminiscing about our memories while rummaging through our belongings.
The picture above is two of my boys going through their beloved “dress up box”. This has held a large menagerie of homemade and store bought costumes and weapons that we have been collecting since their two older brothers were very young. Back in the days when I had time to sew elaborate Halloween costumes for every member of the family in a matching theme. That was 4 or 5 children ago….and I’ve learned to let some things go.
I’m so thankful that my parents came into town to help us sort through all of our stuff and sell it at the garage sale this weekend. This week would have been doubly exhausting without their help. Unfortunately, besides offering to store a couple of family heirlooms, all I’ve been able to talk them into taking permanently into their possession is a few books and a couple of pairs of earrings. Not all that helpful, really. 🙂 It’s kind of ironic during this season of purging and downsizing and singing its praises all the while that we are actually just marketing our stuff to friends, family and complete strangers online enticing them to take our stuff to their house.
We own a ridiculous amount of stuff. Embarrassing, really. Why, I really do not know. It is definitely not on purpose. We have held many garage sales during our marriage much to my husband’s dismay. He definitely leans more toward the packrat personality type while I myself, like to think of myself as the exact opposite. I’ve always claimed to not be very sentimental, but yet I tear up almost every time I start replacing the children’s wardrobes to the next season of hand me downs. My husband informed me today that I’m a certifiable book addict. Which is totally true, I’ll readily admit. On the other hand, I have repeatedly gotten rid of every baby related item after each of my last five babies were born, each time thinking that I had all of the children God was going to bless me with. Five times replacing maternity clothes, crib sets, bouncers and swings. As you can see I’m somewhat of a slow learner!
Anyway, so far this week has been a really good week. I’m praying the rest of the week brings no rain, lots of garage sale customers and an empty driveway at the end of it all. God has simply amazed me so far this week with His blessings, His presence and His peace and a wonderful sense of joy that only He can provide. What else, really, could I possibly need?
TomandJenPlus11 
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