Rummaging Through

One of the best things about the church I attend is the yearly rummage sale that benefits the youth activities. I can honestly say I have not attended even one of the actual rummage sales over the years. Only this year do I have a child old enough to being to benefit from the proceeds of the sale. So why do I think the rummage sale is a great feature of the church? Frankly, I like it because it motivates me to purge, purge, purge all the "stuff". When the pastor announces that the congregation can start bringing their items for the rummage sale, I get a giddy little fire in my belly and I start making a mental plan of attack on the "stuff". I really do not even hear the benediction because the manic urge to purge is going full force. AMEN, lets clean house.

This year while I was surrounded by children's books and toys, figuring out what was broken, too old, too young, or too ridiculous; I realized that for a family that has never gone to New Orleans we have a lot of Mardi Gras beads. Yup, strings and strings of Mardi Gras beads. Never been to the Big Easy, its on the list of places to go, pretty close to the top, but I already have the beads. So you might think she is going to tell us she boxed those up for the rummage sale. NO, she did not. Many things are making there way out of the house, but the Mardi Gras beads just kept getting placed around my neck. I looked like a very popular lady by the time the toy purge was complete. Now I am wondering how the heck do we have so many beads. Do people hand these out at birthday parties? When I go out do have so much fun I do not recall getting cheap beads? Do lost socks morph into Mardi Gras beads? And most of all why am I hanging on to all of the beads? I was so filled with the Holy Spirit of purging, but not for these silly plastic beads. Certainly once the mystery of how the beads got here is solved I may be able to release them, but until then I have some craft ideas (which likely will not happen) or perhaps the beads will become my new personal fashion statement (also pretty unlikely).

Do you have any items is your home that no matter how useless you just can not part with it? And if you can explain my attachment to Mardi Gras beads to me, there is a fancy coffee drink in it for you. Unti then, I figure some Mardi Gras beads will not land me a feature spot on Hoarders. It is my goal in life to stay off that particular reality show.