What are you storing?

As my dad and I drove past Dependable Storage he said, “That’s a nice-looking building.”

                “Very nice,” I said. “I rented a unit there for a while. It was great.”

                And I wondered, If the walls were clear, what would we see? What are people storing?

                My own experience with a storage unit began years ago when we put a For Sale sign in our front yard. Despite a full offer, I changed my mind, the house came off the market, but the stuff stayed in the unit. And it wasn’t just my stuff. My daughters Lauren, Elise, and Victoria all contributed clothes, shoes, and furniture from various college apartments to the boxes of unused items I had already stacked in the metal climate-controlled space. And it was truly out of sight, out of mind.

                One day I’d had enough. I was tired of the monthly payments and announced the end of the unit. The four of us rummaged through box after box and donated almost everything. I felt such freedom driving away knowing I had ridden myself of those unnecessary items, but it was sobering to realize I had been paying the price, every month, for things no one wanted or needed.

                And today I wonder, what price am I paying for things I not only don’t need, but are harming me? Anxiety, fear, unforgiveness, lack of faith, doubt? They are costing me peace, joy, and freedom.

                So, I went through the negative thoughts and emotions I had stored in my heart, and one by one, found a scripture for everything that was bothering me, and asked God to empty me of what  I didn’t need. And He did. And I walked away free.