We are familiar with how the principle of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament was to point Israel to the sacrifice to the sacrifice of Christ.  We also should be fairly familiar with how the sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit can point us to Christ.  But what if we also apply the principle of sacrifice to our efforts to de-clutter?  Everything we give away and let go of can remind us of what Christ sacrificed for us.  The better we get at letting go, the easier it becomes, but there may still be some things that will be very hard to let go of, even though we know we should.  At these times, letting go may seem like inexorable deprivation.  This is when remembering Christ’s sacrifice can be most instructive and comforting.  And can’t we ask the Lord to sanctify us and refine us by our efforts to let go?  

Let me give an example of something I felt was a sacrifice to de-clutter.  I’ve only made one quilt for myself in my life, and I gave it away before I ever used it.  I designed it myself, and I chose the material for it specifically so that it would be as colorful and cheerful as possible.   I meant it to be as large as possible for my twin bed (I was single at the time), and I gave it a fleece backing and the thickest batting I could find so that it would be as warm as possible.  It took a long time to make, and by the time I finished it, things had changed—I was married and slept on a king-sized bed with my husband, and although the quilt would have been huge on a twin-sized bed, the quilt wasn’t big enough for a king.  We also had moved to Arizona, and the quilt designed for northern chilly nights was too hot.   The day I finished it was the day I knew I had to give it away.  I took it to a ward swap meet and the bishop’s daughter pounced on it.  I was pleased that someone else was going to appreciate it.

That was kind of a hard decision to make, but it made it easier for me to de-clutter.  After all, if you’ve let go of something big, then letting go of littler things is a cinch.

When have you let go of something and felt like it was a sacrifice?  Tell me about it?