Letting Go

This weekend I had a moving sale. The doors were opened to the city and price tags were put on pretty much everything in the house. This process surfaced a surprising array of emotions - greed, joy, panic, and thankfully freedom. By God's good grace the feeling of freedom won out over the others. I have never been more free to travel. If you subtract the stuff that will be babysat by dear friends and family, my belongings currently fit in one room.

I spent the day releasing things precious to me.  Through this process I realized that my sentimental attachments were mine and mine alone. For instance, as a woman was purchasing a dress, I said "That's from Liberia!" with excitement, to which she replied, "Is it still $1?"  I said good-bye to the red jacket that the buyer clearly did not know how to wear. The Pier One salt and pepper shakers that I waited to find on clearance for months were gone in the blink of an eye. The stories of letting go filled my day, each a bit easier than the previous. 

But Wanda was the story of the day, the story I'll remember forever. 

Twelve years ago a friend of mine died as a result of a skiing accident. This was my first time to experience loss like that and it was a difficult journey for me personally. At the time I was given a stuffed bear praying on his knees and it has always been special to me relative to that loss.  After some debate I decided it was time to let go of the bear, and I put him up for sale this weekend. A lady named Wanda picked him up with some other things from the sale. As she was paying for her purchases she asked about where I was going, and what I was going to be doing. I told her all about the Pearl House. Once I finished, she picked up the bear, gave him back to me and asked me to give him to one of the girls that we will be helping. She then proceeded to get out the rest of her cash ($115) and hand it to me. With a hug and a "God bless you" she walked out of the house. 

Thank you, God, for using that moving sale day to set me free from my stuff and for using Wanda to remind me that I will never out-give you!