Empty.

May 2011- Jeremy and I were married and moved into our first home in Lexington, NC

February 2012- We decided to move back to High Point to be closer to Jeremy's work and most of our friends. 

Now, just a year later and our lease is up next month and we are packing for yet another move! We are doing a thorough cleanse of our things- getting rid of almost anything that will not make the impending move to Spain.

Our walls are starting to look empty as we begin taking down artwork, pictures and shelves. The guest room closet is nearly empty. The bookshelves are being emptied. Boxes that were put away from the last move are being emptied. Even my closet and drawers are looking a little more empty as piles of clothes are collecting for Goodwill and Plato's Closet. 

I love getting rid of things. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when something cluttered is emptied or at least organized. I hate clutter. I actually do hate messes but my home may not always reflect that. 

I think God hates clutter too. God hates the messes that we make for ourselves. I think He probably despises all of the junk we fill our lives with. The physical junk or the memories and the emotional "baggage" that we all carry with us. So much of it we just need to get rid of. 

"He must become greater; I must become less." 

John 3:30

Sure it is easier said than done. Sure many things we can't just forget about. But we can decide not to carry it  with us. We can decide to set it down and move on. 

This isn't a new message of course. Just one that I've been thinking about today. 

As Jeremy and I prepare for our work in Spain I don't want to constantly be thinking of things from the past. I don't want to be holding back from doing something because of something I should have gotten rid of a long time ago. If my hands are holding on to the past so tightly I will never be able to grasp what is ahead of me.

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 3:13-14

Just thinking...