As of our last move, Doug and I realized that we had seen some form of major transition once every eighteen months of our lives. Not just during our time as a married couple – since birth.
Transition is just a natural part of life for us. And in our married life, that transition has typically meant a residential move of some sort.
Moving is a pill on its own, but when you own a ton of stuff, it’s even worse. We learned that lesson very quickly and determined that major purges would be necessary with every move.
The Purging Problem
Each time we settled in a new home, we would inevitably accumulate more stuff. Each move would demand a serious evaluation of all we owned. Only the items truly worth packing, hauling, and unpacking made the cut.
Recently we have hit a new problem, though. You see, we are close to celebrating four years of life in Almyra. Four years! How does that happen for the Hibbard family?
Even more startling than that is the realization that we have no plans to move. Although there always must be a willingness to face a transition, we are not actively sending out resumes or contemplating possible next steps. On the contrary, we are discussing just how we can continue to pursue dreams and passions from right here in our little farming community. With each passing month, we find ways to become more settled.
But that poses a bit of a problem. You see, the purging has always been attached to a move. So, without a move, the stuff accumulates. It begins to take over. It crowds out the useful and creates clutter.
We must now learn to apply the lesson of purging to our current lives of stability. That requires a change in our habits and our way of life.
Purging of the Heart
Many of you might not have lived the transitory life Doug and I have lived, so this might not connect with you from a lifestyle standpoint. But what about your spiritual life?
Oftentimes it seems that our spiritual lives require some sort of outside stimulus before we see a change or period of growth.
We attend a special revival service.
We go through a time of trial.
We experience a crisis of belief.
We are asked to tackle a spiritually challenging task.
These are all “moves” in our lives. Transition points that cause us to evaluate the spiritual junk that has accumulated. We are forced to clean house and start afresh.
But what if we were to live continuously decluttered lives? What if we were to not require a transition to stimulate our spiritual purges?
I want to live a decluttered life. But I will not always be able to rely on transitions or external stimuli to accomplish the purging. I must learn to purge in the daily mundanity of life. I must clean out my home and my heart on a continual basis.
Not Quite Ordinary 