Throw Out!

Ecclesiastes 4:⁶ “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” (NIV, emphasis added).

So how do you achieve this One Handful Living? Three things and the first is Throw Out. Do not get me wrong, I do not that you should open your door and throw everything on the streets. Throw out means getting rid of it from your life. The less you have, the less you have to worry about. The less you have, not because you cannot afford it, but because you are simplifying your life. So, when you want to buy new hair or new sunglasses, the question you should ask yourself is, do I need it, or do I want it? Someone said and is so true that, “Owning less is way better than organizing more”. The question is why do we struggle to let go? There are two main reasons why we struggle to let go. The first reason is Fear. The fear of, what if I give this thing away and I need it tomorrow? And it happens to all of us.

Honestly, it used to happen to me but not much anymore. What if I give this shirt away and then I need it tomorrow? Guess what? You have not worn it for six months. And six months can easily become six years. These pants are so nice, but you have not worn them in a year. What if I give it away today and then it turns out that I need it tomorrow? A lot of us live in fear of needing something that we already own. Give it away! What has helped me is when I get something I always give things away. My life is just like a channel. I am always giving things away. Can you guess why? It is because I know that when I need it, God will provide it. So, I do not hold tightly to things. Do not hold tightly to things.

The second reason is Sentiment. We are sentimental about things, and we all are guilty of this. We look at things and say, ‘This is the dress I wore for my secondary school graduation’. There are other people who need that dress. Let it go! Take a picture, and let it go! If you want to grow in the minimalist mindset, the book ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ by Marie Kondo is a really good book. In the book, Marie Kondo says, ‘How to overcome sentimental hoarding: “thank them for the purpose they served in the past and bless someone else with it.”’ So, take that dress, thank it very much for serving you on your secondary school graduation day, and then give it out. Some people are still holding onto their children’s baby clothes, children that are now in the university. Some people are still holding on to the first diaper poop. It may sound funny, but people do crazy things. Thank it for the role it played in your life and bless someone with it.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to engage the one handful living in my life, to throw out and not be held back by fear or sentiments, in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen!