This is a phrase I may not say too much, but I certainly think it. If I ever compile a book of my life lessons, this will be in it.
It served its purpose.
There are many things in my life that fit into this category.
When I think about the stuff that has served its purpose in my life, it usually is with the intention of getting rid of it, throwing it out, giving it away, putting it behind me or simply changing my attitude towards it and understanding that it was part of my life that served its purpose and is now over.
A couple of the most evident things in my life which I need to part with are two specific items of clothing which I will probably never wear again. The first is the oldest. It is chocolate brown corduroy jacket that I worked very hard for. As a 16 year old I worked at a fruit and veg shop in a small shopping centre in Harare. Next door to the veggie shop was a small clothing store and that was where I found this jacket. It cost $40, which back in 1980 was a sizable amount of money. I saved and saved until eventually I had $40 and I bought. It still hangs in my cupboard…
I never wear it, but I am having a huge amount of difficulty parting with it. It just takes me back to a time when money was tight; I saved up the cash out of my first job and bought it. It’s 37 years old this year. “Helga,” I say to myself, “it’s got to go! It’s served its purpose.” Yet still I keep it a little longer!
My “going away” outfit that I wore to leave my wedding also still hangs in my cupboard. The value I associate with it is also high on the sentimental scale. I still have my wedding dress. That I am keeping. I am sure no family member will ever wear it, but some day in the future, the family will smile over it and possibly take it apart for incorporating a piece in the wedding dress of a family member not yet born!
My nursing degree is another thing that served its purpose. I worked long and hard to achieve a degree in nursing. To qualify for the degree in the first place I had to complete a 3 and half year nursing/midwifery diploma. Once I had that, I was qualified to enroll with UNISA and spent 6 years part time to get a degree in Nursing Education and Community Health.
Then I promptly started a career at Radio CCFm.
The nursing qualifications were never wasted. They gave me such a lot of useful health information and I used it for many years on air at CCFm. I now I feel it has served its purpose. The medical world has advanced in huge leaps and bounds since I studied and I have pretty much got left behind.
“It served its purpose”. In cleaning out, I find myself thinking that phrase more and more these days.
In my Bible reading I have been reading the Sermon on the Mount and in my musings, I found a more meaningful thought…
Matthew 6:19-20
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
The great treasure we will enjoy in heaven are relationships.
Focus on those.
#155 of my 1000 thanks is that moment at the end of a busy day when all is done and I climb into bed and stretch out my legs and do a little “bed jig” to celebrate ‘me time’. Love it!
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂