Confession 109: Packing

Well, the big move is finally upon us. Thursday is move day, so we are in the final stages of packing. What this means in our house is that everyone grabs a box (kids too) and runs through the house throwing anything lying on a floor, table, chair, couch, bathtub, etc... pell-mell into the box. The box then gets closed, taped, and marked with a big "Misc." to make it look organized and official. Of course, we know that the big "Misc." really means, "Stuff scattered throughout the house we had no idea what to do with." My oldest has gotten pretty into the whole packing thing. He packed two boxes last night, and was very excited about it. I had to go through it when he wasn't looking and remove the sippy cup filled with yesterday's milk. That's a surprise I don't want waiting for me on the other end of the move!! (Yes, I did say sippy cup with day-old milk. No one was actually drinking it, it was just there on the floor with the rest of our belongings we have yet to pack.)

As a Methodist clergy family, we always save our boxes. It is inevitable that we will use them again. So, one of my favorite parts of this move has been reading the labels on the boxes from our previous moves. I know, some of you well-organized type A's out there are thinking, "How brilliant! You can pack everything back into the boxes that are pre-labeled and save a step!" In case you haven't noticed, my personality falls more into type C. Organizing everything into pre-labeled boxes makes my head spin. I thoroughly enjoy reading the old labels, loading the "Kitchen Glasses" box with shoes, labeling the box "Sara's Closet" and tossing it into the garage.
What I would really like to do is just toss everything into the garbage and take only a couple of suitcases to the new house. This is how we type C's organize. However, my husband tells me that would be wasteful and financially stupid since we can't afford to buy anything that costs more than a new card table.

We have been purging some things, however, which really does my heart good. Our local goodwill store has received about twenty bags of clothes and toys. My husband would like to purge the cats, but I just don't realistically think that's happening.

I was thinking this morning how nice it would be to go through the packing/purging process in our own lives. I would love to dig down deep into my heart and soul and purge some things out, while packing some others away for safe-keeping. I know that God has done a lot of the purging in his mind, but some things linger in mine. But really, that's how we grow, isn't it?

I guess those are the extent of my thoughts on packing, and in any case, my students have arrived and are eagerly awaiting the learning they will do today. (Ha!) They're eagerly awaiting watching Mexico play Uruguay in the World Cup! You know...whatever works.

Blessings and Peace,
Sara