One, then two, then three, now four boxes lay open in my guest room. Where on earth is that picture?
I was trying to find an old picture for a dear friend’s birthday. As I dug through piles of photos and other stuff, I was amazed at what I had in boxes in my closet- letters, mementos, unfinished crafts, ideas of things to create, etc. Some of them had sentimental attachment. They represented relationships or special seasons in my life. Some of them were things I still had an interest in but had no time for. Some of the stuff just represented postponed decisions.
I was sitting there looking at all of it thinking, “Why do I still have this stuff? I don’t use it. I don’t live this way any longer.” The things represented relationships, interests & ideas from previous seasons of life, but the stuff was still there. Why am I keeping them?
In that moment I realized that what life was calling for now was different from what life had called for previously. These things needed to be edited, but more than that, so did my life.
“Editing” has become one of the unofficial themes for this year. What is there in terms of time investment, or habit, that is no longer serving me in this season of life? When I’ve mentioned that to people, they immediately think about writing. “So you’re editing more articles?” “No, I’m editing my life!” I’m looking for what are the things that are no longer necessary or redundant, or reflect an earlier season of life. In doing so, I want to make space for the new things that the Lord wants to do in 2012.
What changes are you making this year? What do you need to make space for in your life?
AB Reflections 
Great way to express it! I’ve been doing something similar, trying to tie together the pieces of my life. Sometimes I just change for a season, and I want to go back “someday” and revisit things that gave me joy. And like that picture, I don’t want to loose memories. But ya know, there are lots of things in my house/life that are just redundant and need to go! Good Will is one of my best friends — lately I have 1/week visits! But it feels good to connect with who I am: past, present and future.
You might want to read Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. It’s a good thing to do.
Thanks for the suggestion, Judy! and thanks, Maggie, I think I’ll be filling bags and boxes for a while!