Downsized

I have never been so tired in my entire life. Keith told me on Tuesday that he had good news and bad news. The good news was the moving company was coming on Friday to pack and ship our stuff, and the bad news was the movers were coming on Friday to pack and ship our stuff. Needless to say, I have spent the last several days (and nights) scrambling to decide what we were going to take to England with us, what we were going to store at our parents' houses, and what we were going to have to get rid of.

We decided not to try to ship our furniture, because it is so outragously expensive. In order to take some personal things (like clothes, pictures, toys, etc.), we decided to just ship a small container. That means most of our things couldn't make the trip, so we have been very busy selling our big items on Craig's List and trying to talk our families into taking special items for us.

The main question I keep asking myself is how in the world do we have this much stuff. I feel like we have intentionally tried to live simply, and everyone knows that I do not keep anything (I hate clutter and my family makes fun of me for throwing everything away). This has definitely been a convicting experience, and I have sworn to myself to never gather this many possessions again.

It has been a little difficult having to part with some things that I really like or that have sentimental value, but I am reminded that it is all just stuff. Really, I think that is what part of this process is all about. Today I have felt really thankful. I am thankful that God has blessed us with so much, and I am even more thankful that God has given us all peace about giving up so much. Simplifying and downsizing is not an easy process, but it is extremely liberating.