I'm happy with what I have!

A few weeks ago I wrote about God speaking to me about significantly slimming down our family stuff, our physical stuff, our material junk. Well, its been a busy week on the 'being the Vicar's wife' front but slowly but surely I have been slimming down! Honestly, hundreds of pounds (of weight) of stuff has gone and I feel so much healthier! If only losing fat was this easy and joyful! There is a long way to go, this is not going to happen overnight, but I am beginning to notice the difference already and realising the truth of 'less is more'. I'm am feeling freer about 'stuff' in a way that I didn't expect, at least not this quickly. I am also enjoying what we have more as well, especially while playing with the children. I am wondering if this is because I feel God has asked me to do this. This is more than my normal clear out, it is a spiritual exercise and it has spiritual consequences. I have stored up treasures on earth, and they have distracted me from seeking first the Kingdom of God ( Matt 6v19ff), and they are now in the process of going. It is good for me.

The thing is, as much as I love decluttering,  the real point is I don't want to have to do it again for a long time. The challenge is really about changing my relationship with stuff, and my desire for it. I had thought that because I don't really like shopping in conventional shops I wasn't really materialistic. How wrong was I! My trouble is, I love a bargain. Doesn't really matter what it is, but I'm like a sniffer dog after blood! Give me a charity shop, garage sale, Home Bargains (such a fab shop!) and best of all a car boot sale and I'm on high alert for stuff we 'need'. To be fair on myself I have got better at not bring home total rubbish, and often I find gems which save us money but I am an expert at bringing home a lot of bargains, I just can't resist! "50p, a bargain, I must buy!" (My dear eldest daughter (7), who is so much more sensible about this than me has said to me on more than one occasion, "No mummy, don't buy it, we don't need it, we already have loads of those"). Trouble is because its all so cheap I can acquire loads of stuff without spending loads of money. This is what has fooled me into thinking I wasn't into 'stuff'! So, I can get a lot of stuff for a fiver, I mean bags and bags. And it all mounts up in my house. Ick, ick!

So my new mantra, which has made such a difference these last few weeks has been 'I'm happy with what I have!'. I don't have to look for more stuff, even bargains because I'm happy with what I have. I have walked passed our local charity shops countless times thinking 'I'm happy with what I have' and the desire to go in has just died, gone. Wonderful. 'Ah, instead, I shall go home and play with by little boy', and I have, and it was fun. I have unsubscribed to all the emails which would tempt me with discounts galore because I'm happy with what I have ( which to be honest I never succumbed to but for some reason would always want to read. How many minutes, nay, hours have I spent reading about discounts offers? Honestly, it just doesn't make sense, be gone, thief of time! However, I am now trying not to feel lonely without a full inbox, they felt like friends, oh the deceit!). Sale catalogues go from the door mat to the bin with one easy move. Don't you dare suck my time! And most significantly of all I have stayed in bed until gone 7 on a Saturday morning, which means I did not go to the boot sale. Hallelujah! Strongholds are being broken! I do not need the bargain, I am happy with what I have!

Believe me, we have a long way to go, we are still overrun with stuff, to the point it is hard to use. For example, I yanked open the apron drawer the other day, and pulled out over 12 wedged in aprons, 12! None of them really used because it was so tricky to get them in and out of the drawer. Trouble is they were all rather lovely or held memories or 'might be useful for a particular occasion' (which probably will never happen, 'the imaginary moment', the most significant excuse I have for keeping stuff). However, I ignored my fanciful emotions and I have now passed on six of them, and because I can open the drawer we are now using the remaining aprons, and are all cleaner as a result. Result. Less is more. This scenario can be repeated throughout my house.

The Vicar is also finding joy in this, which is joy for me too. He had a good clear out of his books the other day and gave loads of them away (He actually doesn't really have much he calls his own ( who needs stuff when you have an iPad?), but  he does have lots of books). What was really cool was they were good books, not rubbish books. There was something really wonderful to give away stuff we still valued, hoping it would bless someone else. Personally I struggle to let books go, its like giving away knowledge, I wanted to put them all back on the shelf, 'just in case', but I watched and learnt, and it was good.

My desire to simplify really comes down to a desire to be able to be more focused on Jesus and His Kingdom. My desire for stuff, my acquiring, handling, tidying and sorting of it has stolen a lot of time from me. Time I could be doing other things, seeking Him, doing His will, focusing on my family. I don't really love my stuff, but it has been a huge distraction, and I don't want it any more. I asked Jesus to show me how to clear my mind to make more space for Him and this is what He has shown me. I love Jesus, I want more of Him, so the rest is easy.