Journals

The other day Jeff and I made the decision NOT to keep stuff in storage while we are gone.  We were going to put a fair amount in a climate controlled something or other, but after thinking about it more, we decided that it may not be worth the money to save what we would put in there.  So, a week and a half before we leave, we are now trying to sell, give, and store "precious" things with other people.  It is very difficult to go through things that are "perfectly good" and "I might NEED this later" and decide, it may be perfectly good but I hardly have used it, or do I really NEED this.  NEED is a very relative term.   I have been trying to think of Jesus' disciples who left everything to follow Him.  They could not take anything with them that they could not carry or have on their body.  They really couldn't leave tubs full of stuff with family members either.  Plus Jesus also told a rich man to sell everything, give to the poor, and come follow Him, but he couldn't do it. 

It makes me realize just how much stuff we acquire and what it really means or doesn't mean.  I am a journaler and I have probably 10 different journals, mostly prayer journals, but I keep every single one.  I always think that the insights and messages God reveals to me need to be kept so that I don't forget what He is trying to tell me.   It's not like I have even gone back and read through them. I think that God reveals Himself in different times to us in different ways.  I realize now that the journaling is all a part of processing the current applications I can make from Him.  My journals are not to keep forever and go back and re-read.  For me, I can feel confident in not keeping them, because I know that as long as I am spending time with the Father, He is going to reveal to me what I need to know at that time.  He will refresh in my mind the things that I was "supposed to learn" a long time ago but haven't quite mastered and will keep challenging me in new ways.