It Begins

I finally started disassembling the house this week. (Even though we haven't found a place to live for the months of Oct, Nov and maybe Dec). I didn't realize how much "stuff" we have. The old nursing school texts, the old stuffed animals in the upstairs closet, old linens from the cabin, china that was wedding gifts....the list goes on and on. Then there are the things that make the house "homey," if that is even a word. Window treatments, pictures of loved ones, meaningful treasures; these too are off of the shelves and walls. Our home is becoming just a house. Which is ok. But it makes me think, what makes a home, a home? A place where you feel at peace, where you are comfortable and creative. A place that reflects you. I refuse to think that belongings and things define who I am; and yet they do in some way reflect my thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and loves. I'm sorting and re-sorting through all of our drawers and shelves to determine what can be donated to Goodwill or the co-worker of mine whose home just burned down. We are blessed to have shelter and clothes and jobs and family and to live comfortably. I pray that the things in our lives would never hold a place of exalted value. That they have their place, but not the place. That they remain what they are: objects with no value except that which I assign.