Storage...

I made a point on my fall break to switch out my summer clothes for my fall wardrobe.  This used to entail a simple switch of closets in our home.  Now that I am at my parents, it means a trip to the storage unit 20 miles away.

I packed up my summer yellows and pinks, and all things cotton and colorful.  I parted with my oh so favorite yellow shoes that gave me an extra skip through this trying summer.

I traded them in for a much darker attire, lots of brown, and black, and my new favorite color of the season, gray.  All things warm, and cozy, and lots of layers, that's my style.  Now I will admit I have way too many boots, but that makes this ease into cooler weather and the shorter days a little bit more bearable.

But this season's wardrobe is heavy....just like my heart.  Opening up that door to my storage unit was a wave of emotion.  I was immediately met with the smell of our home...and countless things of Tony's.  One box in particular had his handwriting on it, "Christmas items and wrapping."

It was like he was just there.

It was like he too was preparing for a new season.

But he's not.  Only his stuff remains.

Stuff he never held too closely.

He was never much on keeping many things around.  He did keep one box of sentimental items and notes, but that is a drop in the bucket to what I have kept over the years.

He chose to capture his memories in pictures, in journals, and mostly in moments.

And that is exactly what I hope to hold onto in my longterm storage in my heart and mind.

Sure, I'll treasure his things.  I wore his UGA shirt for the first game this season.  I look forward to curling up with one of the many books in his collection, complete with his side notes and underlining.  His pillow is still next to mine on my bed every night.

But all of that pails in comparison to who he was, to what he stood for, to his relationships and the impact he made on this earth.

As it says in Matthew 6:19-20, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."

One day I'll clean out that storage unit.  And as I prepare to do so, I pray the Lord will guide me in letting loose of my own things in this world that don't really matter.  May the storage unit in my heart be purged so that I have more capacity for the treasures in the life yet to come.

Dearly loved, in my boots,
Melissa