Moving - A Cleansing of the Soul

I have yet to meet someone who can genuinely say “I love moving!” (now of course this is the ‘moving’ that involves packing up all of one’s belongings and transporting them from one geographical location to another…not to be confused with merely ‘moving’ from one place on the couch to another). Yet, at some point in all of our lives we find ourselves doing that thing that so many of despise…moving. It is a concept all too familiar to me right now. A little over a week ago my family and I survived a pretty ambitious move. Throughout the process though, I found it interesting how the physical act of packing up all my things seemed to coincide with some internal inventory that I have been taking. Packing and moving forces you to open closets you never open, go through old things you thought would remain sealed in boxes and drawers forever and, well it simply forces you to sort through the past. It is remarkable how much ‘stuff’ we acquire over time, and to think that I am only 22 years into my acquiring process…still so much stuff left for me to compile. Anyway, while I was going through all of the things in my room alone, I had to sort things into piles…things to keep…things to get rid of. I have never been very good at the latter. I am what one might call a compulsive pack rat. Well, this time around I found it much easier to put things in the ‘get rid of’ pile. I think it is an overall theme within me right now, I want so badly for this new phase to be different than phases passed. I finally realized that part of making that happen involves my getting rid of things that I do not need. Now let me clarify, this is not a matter of wardrobe or accessories…the things I have found it necessary to keep over the years are papers, cassette tapes (yes, cassette tapes! I was born on the brink of the CD revolution), letters, old school assignments from Junior High etc…things that most of you would probably refer to as junk. I finally came to a place where I realized that not all of it needed to come with me to my new place, a realization my mom felt was LONG overdue. Simultaneously, I began to learn how to “get rid of” things within me that were of no use to me anymore. Things like hurts from relationships of my past, bitterness towards situations beyond my control, anger about unmet expectations etc. It’s not exactly a one-time process, but I am much further along in it than I have ever been before. It is incredibly freeing, it is allowing me to have a better shot at this new phase in my life being a better one, a different one. There are still many challenges in my present and many more to come in the future, but I feel a glimmer of hope shining through the brokenness that has become my soul…and for now, that is more than enough.

(Oh and as a random side note...it took long enough, but this is my 50th blog post! :) yeah I don't know why it's a big deal, but it is. lol)