Who knew?

...Cleaning out and organizing one's closet can help with the "Letting Go" process.

Today I decided to take part of my Friday to clean and organize my room. My closet definitely needed to be cleaned out, so I could ADD more to it! I've lived in this apartment for two years...so my closet held two years of memories.
As I cleaned, a LOT of those memories came flooding back to me...some good, some not so great. Tears came to my eyes...and I decided to "trash" a lot of stuff. Holding on to the stuff wasn't going to keep the memories there. I will always remember things in my life...throwing "stuff" away isn't going to erase those memories...but in a way I think it is a part of my "letting go" and "moving on" process.
To start, I've been trying hard to let go of Summershine. That might seem weird...As I've been trying to figure out what my summer will look like this summer, I've contemplated where God might have me...and Summershine kept flashing into my mind. Should I do it? Is it over for me? Would I even be able to do it? And as I've contemplated and prayed over this I've had other people speak their own opinions and wisdom into my life, without me really even asking for it, and they gave me the answers I needed. Summershine is a chapter in my life that needs to be closed. Two years ago I had an amazing summer in Williamsburg, VA...this past summer wasn't that great, but it was a chapter in my life and that chapter should end.
So today, as I cleaned out my closet, I came across my KOA shirts and my papers from my first Summershine orientation, and my stuff from this past summer...Magazines from my first summer, a water bottle (that grossly enough still had water in it from my summer two years ago)...and a few other little items...and as I said goodbye Summershine, I said goodbye to these items. I let go.
I also came across other items I've been holding on to...from school, etc...and I threw those things away as well. I can't tell you how many times I had to go to the dumpster today to carry stuff to the trash...it wasn't all KOA stuff, it was stuff that held on to some painful memories...stuff that was enjoyable but pointless also...and as all this stuff went into the dumpster I saw my closet clear out and I felt my heart lighten a little.
Whether I realized it or not, those "things" I was holding on to that I never even looked at still held a burden on my heart.
Throwing them away was good. The memories, like I said, will always stay, but the stuff is gone. I'm letting go. It's a freeing thing :).
Who knew some freedom could come from cleaning?