Out with the Old - Change, change, change

                                                         
                                        
The donation truck came yesterday morning, and hauled away a veritable treasure trove of our formerly valuable stuff.  That is, formerly valuable to us.  Now, we hope that it will become at least somewhat worthwhile to someone else.  Otherwise, we could have just dumped it.

Five large bags, that was the haul.  And oh, joy - three of them came from my husband's closet.  You have to know him to know how astounding this truly is, since this is a man that still has every tax return he has ever filed, and clothes that predate the Nixon administration.

I noticed a trend in what was discarded, lots of long-sleeved dress shirts and quite a few dress slacks.  Uh huh.

He was a banker for over thirty years, and when he retired from banking, he said he had worn a tie every weekday for thirty years and did not ever plan to wear another one unless forced to.

I only had two bags to contribute because I had already given away 4 or 5 bags of my own belongings in November.  We are contemplating a move this coming spring, Lord willing, and it is definitely time to clear out the detritus of daily living in one spot for two decades.

I have been praying about this move for over three years.  One of the things I knew my husband would miss the most about our present home was our next-door neighbor.  Johnny and David are old Air Force vets, who often sat in their canvas chairs in the drive way on a warm summer day and talked football, military lore, and other guy-stuff.  Johnny just up and moved to Japan, his wife's home of origin, last month.

So that is one less anchor to this location.  God is on the move, and hopefully soon so will we be. But the change is still uncomfortable sometimes.  We have a potential relocation spot in mind.  But changing everything from our address, to our doctors/dentists and barbers, to our daily newspaper ... well, at our age it is all a bit much.

Nevertheless, it is time to downsize, and I am hopeful (and very prayerful) that we can navigate all the changes we anticipate, and many I am sure that we have overlooked, with some good humor and maybe even have a little fun while we are at it.

Everything changes.   Our faces, our bodies, our flower beds, our sleep patterns, our hopes and dreams.  Everything changes.

Oh, wait.  There is One who never changes.  Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8)
Thank God!  Have a happy new year!