Clearing Out

My daughter, who is a sentimentalist/packrat by nature, has started clearing her stuff out to get ready for her marriage. Most everything we own is packed in boxes in our sheds (as a result of our flood and reconstruction.) She has boxes and boxes of stuff she has collected her entire life. Cleaning out is no easy thing for her because each possession holds a special memory that she does not want to let go of!

I talked to one of my friends this past week. I called her because a tornado hit her neighborhood, and I wanted to check on her family. In the process of that conversation she told me about a yard sale her youth group was having this weekend. I asked her if she was taking donations, and they were. Ah Ha...somewhere for all this extra stuff to go, AND we get to help their youth group take a mission trip! Perfect!

The yardsale is today, so Kat and I worked on clearing out some stuff we didn't need yesterday. We spent a few hours going through boxes of her clothes, collectibles, notes and cards, little toys and trinkets. We sat in the driveway with stuff scattered all around us. It was certainly a trip down memory road! The funniest thing was her journals. She stumbled on an old journal from around the age of 12. In it, she was writing about a conversation she had had with Veronica, a "sister" to her for years. Vero had been asking her who she liked in the youth group. Kat said no one, but Vero pressed and asked if she had to live with one of them, who would it be? Kat answered Shawn ( a best friend's brother) because she thought she could handle him, but then she added: But not Joe, no not Joe! What makes that so funny is that five years later at 17, Joe would be her first love. She thought she would be marrying Joe. We all thought she would be marrying Joe. It seemed to have God all over it, but as it progressed, some things became apparent. She became frustrated at his lack of Spiritual leadership, and her inability to do anything about who he was. They came apart at the seams leaving her devastated for nearly a year. The next two relationships she would get involved with would be similar. The guy wasn't firm in his own beliefs and who he was was a stark contrast to who she is. We got through that time of her life, the wiser and the stronger as women, as mother and daughter, and as Christians.

God had a different plan, and His plan is a good plan. I am so thankful it has worked out the way it has. I am so thankful she is with Jon, and he is the right man for her. He is a man who can hold his own, is serious about his own faith and his own growth. He complements her and balances her, and she him. Our little trip down memory lane reminded us of where we have been, where we were headed, and what we needed to clear out. (Not done with the clearing out yet-just getting started!). The journey makes the new life before her so much more real and so much more closer!

These last moments are sweet moments, but sobering. My daughter will be married in a few short months. I won't wake up in the morning with her here. I won't hear her laughter every day or see her eyes sparkle. She is right-I am going to miss her.