(continued from 4 July 13)
When Betty Jo opened the large garage, it was breathtaking, but not in a beautiful way. A six-bay metal garage was full - head height or more - with very little room to maneuver.
A little later, Betty Jo would open her garage to the house, and it was stacked with boxes to the garage door. Going inside her house, one could find a path from the kitchen to the bathroom (which was barely usable). Other paths around the house existed, and there were a few empty spaces, but not many. Betty Jo's problem with hoarding was real and it was ruining her life.
Almost as soon as we arrived, Betty Jo explained her immediate needs, and she began to give directions to our team about what was to stay, what was to be recycled, what was to be given away, and what was to be trashed. While our team did not see eye-to-eye on what should stay or go, we did find her remarkable. She was letting go of many things that had been holding her for so long. This was nothing less than a spiritual victory of a most powerful kind!
After two days of making significant progress - sorting through two of the six bays in the garage - Betty Jo gave us a card with the following note:
Always REMEMBER - THINGS ARE NOTHING. If something is not moving you toward your goal, DO NOT DO IT, NOR OWN IT, NOR HOLD ON TO IT - for your only possession of value is love and it grows as you give it away.
GOD'S gift to me THROUGH YOU this day shall never be forgotten. I appreciate it and the memory of it is a TREASURED POSSESSION I can happily carry with me always. Thank you!
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4.13, NIV
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