Finishing Life Well Means Honoring God and Blessing Our Loved Ones, Now And After We Are Gone.

Perhaps it’s because I was forced to confront my immortality at a much younger age than most. At thirty-nine, doctors discovered gastric cancer and told me I had between eight and twelve months to live. I knew Jean (my wife) and Jessica (my fourteen-year-old daughter) would face the most difficult time of their lives up to that point. With that in mind, I made it a top priority for the next couple of months to lighten their burdens as much as possible when I left this world for the next one.

One aspect of “Finishing Life Well” is to be a blessing and help make life easier for our family and friends, both now and after we’re gone. (2 Timothy 4:1-6)

Lately, I have noticed bruised spots between my thumb and forefinger on both hands. I suspect they are the result of my “slightly” worn workout gloves.

“I know they no longer serve their purpose, but do you know how hard it is to break in a new pair of gloves? Besides, have you seen what they cost now?” “They no longer make them like this." "I need to keep these just in case my new ones don’t work out."

Isn’t it funny when we hear the reasons we cling to items that are worn out, no longer helpful, or for which we have no space?

Hoarding is the excessive gathering of items that are worn out, unnecessary, and stored despite having no space.

One of the most challenging parts of losing a loved one is sorting through their belongings and deciding what to keep or discard.

“Would she want me to keep this?” “This was important to Dad, but I’m unsure where I can store it.” “It will take weeks to go through all this.”

“It would break Mom’s heart to know I threw this in the trash.”

A few years ago, as I approached retirement, I realized once again that I was facing my final season of life. I started reflecting on what I did at thirty-nine and other things that have come to mind during my wisdom years, which will not only make life easier but also be a blessing to my family after I’m gone. I call them my “12 Power Principles For Finishing Life Well,” which I posted back on February 6

#11 Principal in Finishing Life: “GET RID OF ‘STUFF’... NOW”.

This may be hard to accept, no one wants your old purses, which are the size of a washtub, TVs with tubes, or six pairs of the same jeans that you have been saving for “just in case” you lose those ten pounds. You know, that artificial Christmas tree with half the lights out and two of the branches broken, and all the other Christmas decorations in the attic that you have not looked at in seven years... It’s time to take them to the dump.

And what about all those worn-out baseball caps you’ve collected and worn over the years? No one is going to put them on “their” head. And remind me again why you are keeping all those worn-out, marked-up books and Bibles with missing pages? You do know the sanctity lies in the words of God within the Bible, not the paper they’re written on.

How Do You Decide What Needs To Go?

A good rule of thumb that keeps my house up-to-date and tidy is my “One Year Toss Plan”. If I haven’t worn or used it in the past year, I either donate it to charity or dispose of it properly.

Where Do I Start? 

The closets, then on to the kitchen cabinets and drawers. Then the bookshelves, and finally, to the basement and the garage. Have you noticed that the things we get tired of or are “going to fix someday” often end up in the garage? From there, we move them to the basement or the barn. And then back in the garage for a garage sale? What we can’t sell, we then give to charity or haul to the dump.

During this season of our lives, we don’t have the time, energy, or space to waste on “STUFF.”

Let’s stop wasting all that time, energy, and space on “stuff” and start using your time and energy to fill your house with family and good times that they will remember for the rest of their lives.