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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Bitter and Sweet (05/28/09)
It’s perfect, well, nearly so, anyways. My house is finally all put together, the walls are freshly painted, new carpeting, new countertops; both bathrooms have been completely redone. This doesn’t even look like my house. Everything sparkles and shines. We’ve totally decluttered, all that’s here is what we need, and a few things just because they’re pretty. No more overflowing bookcases, no more piles of unread magazines in the corners. The dozens of little “nick-knacks” that always needed dusting on the tables are gone. Everything is in its proper place, just as I’ve always dreamed of having it. There are a few things I would have liked to do differently. I wish I could have replaced the kitchen cupboards, but just painting them really made a difference.

Nice! I like being able to sit down and just relax. To not feel like my things own me instead of the other way around. The rooms look huge because they are so empty, there are just enough chairs in the living room, and all the extra furniture is gone. Some of the pieces I will miss, like the chair we had to have reupholstered after the dog had her pups in it. And I’ll miss Aunt Ruth’s coffee table, but it was always so delicate, with its spindly carved legs and glass top, I was constantly having to remind the grandkids to be careful.

I wonder how long my house will be like this? How long I will get to enjoy it, before I have to pack up what’s left?

I’ve lived here for twenty years, so there are a lot of memories here, some of them very good, some I’d rather forget. We collected a lot, memories, furniture, just plain “things” that all needed to be sorted through and packed up. Making all those decisions about what to keep wasn’t easy, but now that all the clutter is gone, I feel so much lighter. I don’t even really miss everything. Well, maybe a few things, I think we eliminated a few too many items from the kitchen. I miss all my baking pans. But it’s all for the best. Or so they tell me.

My house is beautiful, almost like a magazine cover! The realtor is due to come tomorrow. There’re going to take pictures to use to list the house. We worked hard to make it look this good; I hope the new owners will appreciate it. I’m going to miss being here. I’ll probably never come back to visit the area, it will just make leaving all the harder.

If only I could have gotten the walls painted a few years ago. I would have enjoyed having them painted. I love the pretty new bathroom; I find myself just going in to look. I put up with that other one for so long.

My life is just like this house. I’ve lived with all the clutter of memories and the broken relationships, the little things that I would take out and dust off and remember the hurt and angry words that went with them. I’ve always wanted to clean things up, but I just wasn’t able to do the work on my own.

When we found out we would have to sell the house, all of our friends and family came to help us fix it up. They worked hard, because they wanted us to be able to show the house off. We weren’t able to do everything by ourselves, it was just too work much for us, and would have taken us so long we never would have finished, but with all the help we got everything done in only a couple of months.

I can’t clean up my life by myself, although I’ve tried. In sixty years, I’ve accumulated some pretty big piles of junk that are weighing me down and keeping me from being free. But my life doesn’t have to be that way. God is there, waiting for me to remember to ask Him to help me clean up my life. He has a new, perfect life ready for me to step into. All I have to do is be willing to let go. To let my rubbish be swept away and replaced with the gift He has for me.

It seems so simple, why have I waited so long to get my house in order?
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Charla Diehl
06/05/09
Good lesson within these words. With age comes wisdom and your MC's eyes are open now. Good job.
Genia Gilbert
06/06/09
Yes, it is never too late t let go! Bitterness can change to that sweetness with God's help, and blessedly, the help of people that He sends into our lives.