Today's Prompt: Saver**
Are you a saver? Are your shelves filled with baby food jars, pill bottles, and cottage cheese containers, just in case you need them? Is you garage filled with boxes and tubs of stuff you have saved, but no longer know what is in them?
My Mom tends to save everything. I found the receipt for the first table she and Dad bought in 1952. It is now in an envelope taped on the underside of that table in my kitchen, saved for the next person to enjoy it.
My daughter, on the other hand, is a minimalist. She is very selective about what she saves.
I fall somewhere in the middle. Steve and I save more things than we need to, but we are trying to go through our stuff and get rid of some of it. It is not easy. What if we need that later? It belonged to Grandma and I can't throw it away. It was a gift.
The practice of saving is praised and applauded by the world. Everywhere we turn, there is advice on how to save. But is it the godly virtue that it is proclaimed to be?
Several years ago, I heard a preacher talk about the spirit of poverty. One of the identifying traits that this spirit manifests is accumulating or storing up stuff. Saving stuff we may use later is not the problem. The reason we are saving it is. Are we holding on to things because we are afraid that God will not supply what we need in the future?
That simple thought has stayed with me and helped me let go of many things I thought necessary to keep.
When we clear the physical clutter from our lives, we literally make way for inspiration and 'good, orderly direction' to enter. -Julia Cameron
Winter turning to spring, and warmer days, signal it is time for spring cleaning. March and April are ideal months for this before it is gardening season. Decluttering is the process of getting rid of stuff we no longer need. Although spring cleaning is the perfect time for this, you don't have to wait.
Before you save it, ask yourself why. Am I keeping this out of fear of lack? Am I trusting the Lord to meet my needs? Am I being frugal or foolish? Am I saving it because of habit?
Set up some guidelines for yourself. What is worth keeping, and how much of it do you need? Will I use it in the next 6 months, in a year, or next 10 years? Do I have room to store it? Will I be able to retrieve it when needed?
The answers to these questions will be different for everyone. A person living in a small apartment simply does not have room for stuff like someone who lives in a large house. Those who are creative or fix-it people will save more than those with other gifts.
In the end, what matters most is you are trusting God to meet your needs and not relying on yourself or the stuff you've saved to do it.
Are you a saver? What do you save?
**This post is part of the #write28days Challenge, writing and posting EVERY DAY in February
Spring cleaning is smoother and faster when you plan in advance.
Get your copy of my Spring Cleaning Guide for a delightful spring clean.
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2 comments
We’ve tended to be savers because we’re collectors. Helping family members made us realize that we needed to change! We did not want to stick our adult children with the task of cleaning up decades of stuff that we just hadn’t dealt with. This winter we moved and although there are still lots of things back at the old house that we still have to deal with, I feel pretty confident that we have kicked the hoarding habit!
I never realized how much of a saver I was until my last move. My youngest daughter and I had many more boxes than my son, who saw the move as an opportunity to purge. Thank you for sharing this thought provoking post.