But I am trusting you, O Lord,

    saying, “You are my God!”

My future is in your hands.

Psalm 31:14-15 (NLT)

The last two months have been at times challenging, exhausting, enlightening, discouraging, and now transforming. Moving is never easy but this particular move had twists and turns that I never expected.

The plan had been to downsize to make life a little easier. I thought that meant a smaller house — maybe a townhouse because I didn’t want to take care of a yard. But God had other plans and we are now proud apartment dwellers. I’ve never lived in an apartment and I had my doubts and qualms about the size, noise, and neighbors — to name a few. When we signed up for this place, a small storage room was available adjacent to our front door which was perfect for those things that you only need occasionally. I snapped it up. 

After living in a house with a garage and lots of storage space, this move required getting rid of about 90% of our stuff…some of the stuff collected over a lifetime. Making decisions is usually not a difficult task for me but when you consider a household of possessions, what stays, what is given away, and what goes becomes overwhelming. 

Three days before the move, I received a call that the storage room was no longer available. Nor was the garage that had been promised as an alternative. It was the straw that nearly broke me. My lack of control over the situation brought me to tears. Mark got on the phone and found a small storage unit at the local Public Storage. My nightmare of never ending boxes in each room and patio was now put to rest. With the help of friends from church, we survived the move. 

I think God has an interesting sense of timing. He provided a garage three weeks after the move, #7. I didn’t realize how much that garage meant to me as a sign of stability and normalcy until it was no longer available. But God wanted me to trust Him with my needs. He has brought me through this journey of releasing so that I am able to pick up new things. And in the end, He provided an unexpected blessing in that garage. Do you know how many boxes are left? About 12 and half of them are Christmas. That is all.

After a couple of months of living with much less, I’ve experienced great freedom and relief. It could be that at this stage of life, the goal of acquiring and accumulating has run its course. Just open a magazine and you will find an article on simplifying. I think I’m going to like it.

I’m not sure what He has in mind for this next season but I’m ready for something new. I’m trusting Him to show me the way.