This has become the mantra around my house! As we clean out, closet after closet and drawer after drawer and room after room and the garage…Enough said, the encouragement I continue to receive is, PURGE PURGE PURGE!

The encouragement is coming from my very own family members. Those that know me best and love me most! They understand that to get rid of unnecessary items, to clear them out and free myself from them is actually healthy!

However, during the process, it feels anything but healthy. Some of it, sure I am ready to be done with it, throw it away, add it to the trash pile, I can’t remember why I kept it anyway. But for the majority of it, there were reasons I held onto it. The memories are still there and they surface with every item that I pick up and hold! Then comes the excruciating decision, get rid of it or hold onto it.

I am not making light of this process in any way shape or form! It is truly one of the most difficult things I have had to do. But if something has sat stored in a box for six years or more, chances are I don’t need it and it has only been collecting dust.

The process of purging can actually be a very healthy thing to do! I have actually had a third garage that has been nothing but a storage unit. I have lived in a house too big for me, and my spare rooms and closets have become store houses for my extra stuff.

It was time to downsize and with the downsizing it was time to PURGE!

PURGE is defined as: “To rid(AKA get rid of), whatever is undesirable, or impure.”

It is also classified as “clearing, freeing, wiping out, removing, emptying, evacuating, and clearing away!”

Every single one of these verbs have been a part of my life this past month!

To quote my daughter, “PURGE PURGE PURGE MOM! I know it’s hard to say goodbye to some things, but no one can take away the memories you have from them. You will feel incredible freedom if you just PURGE PURGE PURGE!”

Oh my brilliant girl is so right! There are still some sad lingering memories of things from the past. My back and arms are definitely feeling the fatigue from the physical exercise of purging! But my heart and my mind and my spirit are beginning to feel cleansed and purified! FREEDOM IS COMING!

As I have sat in many a dusty pile these past few weeks, God has brought the truth of purity to my heart and mind.

He has gently reminded me, as only He can do, that the beautiful memories that I hold are gifts from him and they are as true and real today as they were the day they occurred! Holding onto those precious memories and giving God the glory for each and every one of them truly is the gift! Letting go of space I do not use and items that sit and collect dust are not the gift themselves. The gift that God so graciously and lavishly gifts to each and every one of us is in the relationships they represent! There is a beautiful freedom and purity that comes from realizing what needs to take my complete attention and time are the people, the individuals that bring me and share those memories with me! 

This process of purging my physical things, has caused me to look inward and ask God what spiritual things do I need to purge as well. What is it that’s collecting dust or taking up space in my spiritual life that I need to get rid of?

What is it that is impure or undesirable in my life that I need to cleanse and get rid of? Is there something I need to completely wipe out so that the Spirit of God has complete access to truly make me pure and free? Those are the hard questions that I need to ask myself.

As I accomplish this physical purging, I am asking God to help me with a complete spiritual purging! It will not be easy, it’s hard to say goodbye to things we’ve held onto so strongly and so dearly. But in order for my heart, my mind, and my spirit to be completely free to receive all of God’s gifts I must spiritually PURGE PURGE PURGE!

What is it that you need to purge?

Is God asking you to get rid of anything that is impure or undesirable in your life?

There is no one but you that can answer that question! But take it from me God will be right there with you to take you through the process and to cleanse you and purify you and set you free! 

“The fear of The Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of The Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold.”  Psalm 19:9-10a

TRUTH BOMB

THE FEAR OF THE LORD PRODUCES PURITY AND FREEDOM THAT IS FAR MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD!

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