Time to Purge

So many details are coming together for us as we have just 4, yes I said 4, weeks left here in the States. We've got our airline tickets booked for a departure date of 6/28. Due to some incredibly generous donors (whom we've never even met), our tickets have been paid for. It is truly amazing what some people are willing to do for a cause that they feel is worthy and we are so grateful for that.

Lately we've pretty much been working around the clock getting our house ready for new renters to move in. The family who was originally going to be renting the home had to back out a couple of weeks ago due to unexpected circumstances. Once we got past the initial let down of finding that out (think slight freak out mode), we really stepped it into high gear and started packing, pitching, painting, and cleaning. Needless to say, it has actually been good for us. As we sit here praying and hoping for God to plop some new renters in our lap, our house is now the cleanest and least cluttered it has ever been in the 11 years we've lived here.

The thing that we find to be most amazing amidst all this "chaos" is the sheer amount of stuff that one family can accumulate in just over a decade. Every box and piece of furniture that leaves our house gets cataloged with a number. Four truckloads later, we have already cataloged into the 50's. What's worse is that we feel like we've barely made a dent in all of our "stuff". Worse yet, we actually began purging our house of stuff last summer via Craigslist and Goodwill and have cleared out countless truck loads of stuff that way. Yet who knew that ridding oneself of "stuff" could bring about such an attitude of relief and gratitude? I find myself actually being grateful for this opportunity to purge. In fact, I think it's probably something everyone should commit to doing at least once every 5-10 years. All of that stuff, even the stuff that we were using (especially the kid's toys) before we purged really just gets in the way. In a family with 5 children it takes a great deal of time organizing and picking up all that stuff. So much in fact, we find myself with less time to do the other things that we should be doing--playing with my kids, maintaining relationships with friends or having some down time for prayer or relaxation. Really it's the "stuff" in our life that often keeps us from allowing ourselves to be full. There are so many things that weigh us down in our lives and our possessions should never be one of them. It's taking a move across the globe for the Kuhnert's to finally realize this. Open yourself up to becoming more full and if it's "stuff" that's in the way, now is the time to purge.