I came into this world with nothing, and I expect to leave with nothing, yet I seem to hold such a tight grasp on what I accumulate in this life. I sound like a toddler, screeching, “Mine” when someone reaches for my stuff. I remember my dad, one of my greatest influences, saying, “I would be more charitable, but what have those people done to deserve it?” It wasn’t a natural thing for him nor is it natural for me.
In my fifties, I want to release my protective selfishness regarding my belongings and use what I have to help others. It makes no sense to allow things that will better serve others to take up space in my home. The release of it will give me freedom and joy.
I also want to be generous with my time. The time I spend teaching, encouraging, consoling, ministering to, and investing in others will far outlast my lifetime. When I get selfish with my time, I tend to waste it binge watching television, so it’s best to give my time to what God has for me each day, and I know God can multiply that time.
It will feel so gratifying to enter this new decade giving up that what was never mine in the first place!
This post is part of a 31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Embracing Fifty. Please click here to find all the posts in this series. You can find the work of more bloggers participating in this series here. You’ll be glad you did!
I am struggling with the same thing. Letting go of things I do not need, yet cling to as if they are some kind of security blanket. My only security is God Himself, not hundreds of books or 29 teapots, or boxes full of stuff. So each day I pry my fingers loose of whatever it is that needs to go and pray that in doing so I will bless someone else. And when I actually truly release the clutter that boxes me in, that feeling of relief and freedom is amazing. Less stuff, more of Me, is what He seems to be teaching me lately. I just wish I were not such a reluctant learner!
I’m right there learning with you, Deonne! It’s so tricky to let go of what was once precious to us, but God has something so much better in store for both of us <3