itsawonderfilledlife

Ever since that first moment my eyes caught sight of them, I knew that they were coming down.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a strong believer in if it works for you, then you live and love your kitchen cabinets hanging from the ceiling.

But me … not so much … especially when they are blocking my view to a beautiful big sky which provides simply spectacular sunsets.

So, the other day, when the ‘guys’ left me home alone for a couple of hours or so …

First was to figure out how to remove the cabinets without destroying them (because I have plans for these cabinets). Then to see what was attached to what and where. That provided me knowledge as to what to remove in what order.

The outer (far right cabinet was first down).

Then the ‘trim’ piece of hefty melamine that covered the backs of the two cabinets, giving the illusion of one. I didn’t want it to drop fast and hard, so I got our my duct tape and taped it to the remaining cabinet so that I could have time to grab it, after the final screw was removed.

Success!

Then I detached the remaining cabinet from the ‘valence’ over the sink (that will be coming down, as soon as I figure out the electrical above it) then from the wall and voila … a clear view out my window!

The most challenging were the two hanging braces (I am certain there is a better name, but it is not retrievable in my head currently) in the ceiling. Their heads were coated in what seemed like silicone caulking. So, I did what any broadly-thinking handy person would do … I looked in my kitchen utensil drawer. There it was, a fondu fork, aka the ‘silicone-removal tool’.

Once these braces were down, so was I. Just sitting in my kitchen, enjoying the view (which I could also now see, for the first time while standing in my kitchen). It was a glorious view … it IS a glorious view!

I did lose just over ten square feet of storage, but I expected to lose it. So, when I unpacked two months ago, I didn’t use that space at all.

Let me tell you, the view was worth any extra storage space!

As I sat in my kitchen that evening, enjoying the beautiful view of the sunset, I was thinking about how open, how free my view has gotten, since unloading that storage space … since deconstructing what has been there from the beginning, but which was obstructing the view …

I hold onto things … do you?

I make space for stuff, simply because I always have … you?

There is something about being over the 50 year mark in life that has me purging of ‘stuff’. I am starting to see that if it doesn’t have purpose, or if it isn’t beautiful to me maybe I am better off, maybe my view is clearer, by clearing it out.

What I am seeing is that … well, I am seeing more. More time, more freedom, more clarity.

Some of the stuff in our lives is stuff that is physical. Maybe something bought on sale, or not. Maybe it’s stuff that someone special gave you, or was handed down from people who came before you. Maybe it is stuff that you only used once … or never used at all. It all requires space and maintenance. It all steals time from other things, more important things.

The thing is this stuff can also be stuff that isn’t physical. Maybe it is the beliefs you hold, the truths you believe. Maybe these have been handed down in the form of messages that play in your head, or words you parrot just like you heard them all of your life. These non-physical things also requires space and maintenance, they also steal time and energies from more important things.

These things can, quite simply, slow us down.

Like Hebrews 12:1 (God’s Word Translation) tells us:

“Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up.”

A runner doesn’t carry anything. The clothing they wear is minimal, light and even their bodies are lean. These athletes know that to run the race, whether short or long, you have to ensure you are not carrying anything more than what is needed to get to the finish line a winner.

Maybe, I need some personal deconstruction, a removing of that which has been obstructing my view, the view that God ordained for me, his servant and child, since the beginning.