Sometime in the last week, I realized that I had completely missed one of the biggest anniversary dates of my life. I can tell you exactly when this picture was taken. I remember that evening with clarity. Ken and I had come from our first ever (and only) closing on the purchase of our new home. We moved in two days later. My parents had taken us out to dinner to celebrate and my mom snapped this photo of Ken and I. Our closing had been delayed on our new construction home because of a huge blizzard. Originally we were supposed to close and move in by January 15th. The date was continually moved back, due to weather delays. I can't imagine what we were thinking when we signed the contract to buy our house in October of 1977 and it was a slab in the ground. Given the weather and general issues that always happen, now I can see that it was a miracle that we were able to get in when we did. 
This is what our house looked like the day we moved in. The date was February 16, 1978. That was 45 years ago. I have lived in this same house for 45 years. 
Here I am standing on the front porch, a couple of months later. We still didn't have backfill or grass or a sidewalk or a driveway. But we had a house! Ken and I were so young back then! I was 23 and Ken was 25 when we bought our home. It doesn't seem possible to say, I have lived in the same house for 45 years!!! I never imagined that I would be one of those people that never moved. But, here I am. And I am so grateful for the provision of the Lord of this very house. Our parents thought that we might be making a mistake to buy this home. It was in a very small and not well known town and also very "far away" from everything. As a matter of fact, my dad said it wasn't even really a suburb of Chicago! And, 45 years ago, I guess that was true. While the town is still "small-ish" with a population around 15,000, one town that has a shared border with ours is the well known giant of Naperville (population 149,000) and clearly a suburb of Chicago. So it was a tiny, rural town 45 years ago, it is not that now! I have never been sorry that we made this purchase.
Ken had always thought of our house as a "starter" home. It is small with only 1200 square feet. We certainly had a few years, when Gwen and Doug were in their teenage years, that our house felt very small. But it was a short time. Soon enough, they were out of the house and it was just us again. Ken's dream home would have had a three car garage and a basement. It would have not had an HOA to deal with. I suppose there were times that I thought about how it might have been good to move. But financially, it just wasn't possible for us. We had chosen to refinance our mortgage several times to pay off medical debt and also to shorten the term of our mortgage. When our mortgage was finally paid off, we took an equity loan to upgrade siding, windows, doors, floors and roof. I can't tell you the peace of mind that I have now, as a widow, to live in a relatively upgraded home, without any debt. I am thankful for this every single day.
I suppose that some would say that I have a much bigger house than is necessary for me right now. But these walls are home. And more than that, I couldn't live anywhere else as ecomonically as I can right here. I know that there will be a time in the future when it will make sense for me to move. But, right now, that is not the case.
I have written about the clearing out that has happened since Ken has died. Ken had found ways to fill up every space (A very overstuffed garage and two storage sheds plus two attics and two closets). With my kids help, we have mostly taken care of all of that. I can now park in my clear garage. My attics are empty. Most of my closets are pretty clear. I have very little clutter around and try to get rid of more than I acquire. It is certainly an ongoing process. But getting rid of "stuff" has also brought me a wonderful feeling of freedom. So, thankfully, I can say that I do not have 45 years of junk in this house. I think this is one benefit of living in a small square footage home.
So, if you have been seeing people suggest clearing out your home of "stuff", I strongly urge you to consider doing this. It doesn't matter how old you are. If you live in the United States, you most likely have too many things. There are so many ways to accomplish this. Some people are doing a space at a time. Some do a bag at a time. Some people choose a specific thing to downsize - like a book or DVD collection. Do you really need to hang on to boxes for things that you may not even use anymore? Or that may already be thrown out? Having fewer things to take care, to clean, to move from place to place will give you more than just physical space. It will give you mental and spiritual space as well.
Many of my friends are now facing clearing out their parents belongings after their death. This is never fun and never something that you want to do. Take my word for it, your kids will not want your silver, your fine china or your matched glassware. They just will not. Make sure you give your kids those items that you want them to have NOW! Let them have a chance to say no to things now, and then you decide what to do with them. I have taken my own advice and sent a lot of items to the resale shop. And I have more to do.
Over the past few weeks, my Pastor has been preaching about Jesus' "Last Will and Testament" from John chapter 14. There has been a challenge to think about not just the "stuff" - the monetary amount- that we leave our families when we die, but also the WORDS we leave. What do we want to give, as an inheritance to our children and grandchildren. What do we want to leave to our future generations. I don't think I have ever thought about this. So, in the next weeks and months, I am going to be putting on paper a Spiritual "Last Will and Testament" for my family.
Ending this "Anniversary memory" blog, asking you to consider clearing out your living space of stuff so ultimatly someone else doesn't have to do it. And asking you to join me on the path of considering exactly what kinds of words of encouragement we leave for our loved ones. Both of these things will help us have peace and calm in the future. A fitting gift for a 45th anniversary.
Jesus, thank you for providing exactly what we need. Your plans and purposes for us are far beyond what we could ever think or imagine. Holy Spirit, keep our hearts thankful, even when we don't fully understand. Give us eyes to recognize all the ways we have been held close to you, even when the path hasn't seemed clear. Give us courage to let go of objects that are weighing us down. Jesus help us have hearts to share and give away from the bounty that you have given to us. Thank you for loving us and drawing us closer to you. Amen
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