This summer I am in New Mexico, the place where I spent my childhood. One of the things I am doing is cleaning out, getting rid of all of my things that I will not be taking with me to France. I will be allowed two suitcases and a carryon bag so bringing things like my bed or my dog are out of the question and so shortly I will be giving them away.
There are other things that I will not be bringing with me. As I go through closets full of stuff I am finding things that I’ve kept since my childhood. Today I found a couple boxes of stickers, greeting cards, & stationery. Going through them I rediscovered Lisa Frank papers and envelopes which I collected during elementary school, stickers that my grandmother had given to me, and many years of handmade Christmas cards. I found postcards that I bought at Carlsbad Caverns and Washington DC and Chicago. I even found one of my high school graduation cards. A part of me wants to continue to hold onto these things but it is only out of fear. I am fearful that one day I will want these things and that they won’t be there because I gave them all away.
I am here in New Mexico this summer, the first home I ever knew, to say good-bye, adieu, to the life that I had once planed to live. It is the right thing to do because until I let go of things here they will only weigh me down, stopping me from what God is calling me to do. Today I am choosing to let go of my childhood treasures and follow God.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” –Matthew 4:19
