My Saturday plans having changed, it gave me a chance to continue my new year cleaning and organizing. Yes, I know, New Year’s was two weeks ago, but that weekend I hardly made a dent cleaning out the paper that I accumulated in 2021. We all hold onto something we think it’s important to save during the year, and it begins to pile up, and pile up, and pile up even more.
Deciding what to keep is difficult because I really don’t want my children trying to decide what to throw out after I die. So, I try paring down the paper, putting items in categories that will tell them a bit more about my inner life. Even with those closest to us, it’s really difficult to share our inner lives. Sometimes it’s difficult to even recognize our inner lives.
It’s a bit alarming that the best reflection of our inner lives is usually found in the items we keep. We look at them from time to time and wonder, how does this thing, this book, these articles carefully clipped and filed reflect who I am? I guess I hope whoever survives me will look at them as carefully as I did to those items of my parents.
Prayer for the Day
Illuminating God, you bring sunrise and sunset, reminding us of your presence;
Illumine us with your wisdom so we have the peace that only you can give.
Binding God, you weave us together as weft and warp on a loom;
Bind us even more closely together to serve you in the world.
Awaken in each of us the possibility of new life and new vision,
So we are reinvigorated with renewed energy each day.
In the name of the One who shares your Spirit with us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I can imagine that my papers and memorabilia my journals and letters, will find themselves always in the company of people who care about many of the things I do.
- Alice Walker, American novelist
I have stuff from 1979, 1980… But I also have things from 2012. So I don’t know whether it’s memorabilia as much as it is holding onto things that I find relevant that most people don’t.
- Ian MacKaye, American singer, musician, songwriter
Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to false idols,
Many things you have done, O Lord my God, your wonders!
And your thoughts toward us; none can compare to you.
I would tell and I would speak: they are too numerous to count
Psalm 40: 4-5 (Robert Alter Trans.)