Ash Wednesday...Play Ball!

The season of Lent has arrived, and with it, my first Ash Wednesday service.  It's very sobering to focus on our own mortality, and  while I can't accurately say that I ENJOYED it, I did find being marked with ashes to be a meaningful experience. Die to live. Not I, but Christ.

So now, the project begins!  While running some trash out to can out front, I took an extra second to pay attention to the Great Heap that is our garage. What a picturesque metaphor for what I'm attempting to gain:  to remove the excess from my life to make more room for God and His provision. So, I took a few pictures.  Now, before you go getting all judgemental, keep in mind that we've only lived in this house for almost nine months, during which I have been learning a new, exceedingly time-consuming career and we've both had our hands full with a newborn bundle of joy...

Here's a view from the door to the laundry room at the back of the garage.

Here's a view from the front.

Here's a gratuitous picture of Avonlea pretending to be a dog along with Heidi who is pretending to still be our baby...

So, yeah, the garage is a mess, and I have grand designs to clean up and clean out this last hectic space in our house. But not tonight. No, to start off my simplicity exercise I'm going to do something pretty easy:  get rid of a few clothes.  Like most folks I know, I have way too many clothes to justify.  There are several reason(ing)s I could give you, but the honest truth is that I've not stopped myself very often from accumulating so many clothes.  So, quickly and painlessly, five shirts will hit the pile.  So it begins...  ;-)

Here's the sad thing.  I was given a big sack full of shirts by someone at our church. I kept many of them, including these five. I've never worn the shirts pictured, not one time.  But here's a good thing, too. Very soon someone that needs them is going to be getting a LOT of very well kept clothes. And God is good.

Peace.