After weeks of preparation – years actually – today was the day for the big house clear out. During the past 2 years, my siblings and I have been working hard at reducing the amount of estate items. We have kept some, sold some, donated a lot, and shared treasures with extended family and friends. Even with all the work, there was still so much. Then the cabin was sold and even more items came back to the house. My brother and I worked on selling as much as we could while he was still here this summer. Then my sister asked if she could move in. I was excited for her to come, but it was obvious we were going to need to make more room. A couple of weeks ago, a furniture consignment shop put me in touch with an estate company who would come in and just take care of things that I wanted gone, as opposed to a full house estate sale. My sister and I worked hard at sorting, trashing, donating, and recycling things. My dad had 2 large filing cabinets plus a wall full of boxes that held his research for the textbooks he wrote. During the last year or so of his life, he would get upset thinking about all the boxes of papers and books, and not knowing what to do with them. He kept saying that no one would want any of it. I just told him not to worry about it and that it would be taken care of. The other day while I was going through it, I was feeling somewhat guilty about recycling the majority of his hard work – even though it’s all in his books, which we have. Then I came across a photo that he took of Orion. That was the constellation we saw in the sky the night he died. I figured it was a sign from him that it was OK and continued on. Last week, a friend who we had done business with in the past came in and purchased many of the smaller items. Today, the estate guy showed up with 2 heavy lifters. They had a couple other guys come and purchase some of the things that they wanted, then they brought things to the consignment shop, to the donation center, and recycling center. He also looked for opportunities to donate items to people who needed them. I was a little wary of the set up at first, as the company charged by the hour, but then would be reimbursed by the sales. Kind of like a mini estate sale. But, the owner who I met with a couple of times wore religious items and had scripture tattoos. I figured his business ethics was between him and God. Today when all was said and done, I actually ended up with money in my pocket. The name of the company was NaCl Torch. The owner told me that it stood for Salt and Light as quoted in Matthew 5:13–16, where Jesus tells His followers, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world,” calling them to live in a way that reflects God’s goodness. I felt that was a true representation of what I had experienced. Once they left, I sat and listened to “The Planets”, thought of my parents, and thanked God for His great kindness.

I Found God today getting help to clean out the house.