Releasing

Katie had been wanting to access her art supplies, especially some of her “earlier work.” So she positioned herself nearby, as I handed box after box down through the attic hole into Angie’s arms. As these odd shaped boxes, a mish-mash of crates, totes, bags, and boxes, made their way to the garage floor, Katie could barely contain her excitement.

As we sort through the already pared down mass of “stuff” we’ve accumulated over 17 years of marriage, over 40 plus years of life, we can’t help but to stumble a bit and wonder over the dichotomy of “wanting and growing attached to things and places” and “letting go of the worship of material things for the calling we are drawn to”. On the one hand we have sentimental feelings about pieces of furniture and pottery yet on the other we see the value in letting go of that which will burn to reach for that which will never fade, that which will endure.

This yard-sale-cum-fall-festival-cum-missions-fundraiser stands on the very hinge of our lives. We are turning toward Christ and His call to the Nations. Letting go of that which ties us here too closely is both unsettling and liberating at the same time. It marks the moment when saying we are doing this really becomes doing this.

Katie has yet to find the box with her art work. It’s probably stuffed in a box way back in the eaves of the attic. As we work our way through all of this stuff, laying aside the things that are too precious to part with, and putting up for sale most of what we own, would you be praying for us? As we lay out on tables the lamps, tablecloths, clothing, and knick-knacks. As we set them alongside the generously donated items that bolster our yard sale, would you come and join us on Saturday October 17th?

You will find some details here.

Just don’t ask for Katie’s art work, it’s not for sale. 🙂

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21