I purchased a new truck last week. Not really sure of my intent considering I loved the truck I was driving. I always experience buyers remorse on large purchases. I did decide to trade my old vehicle as part of the deal rather than trying to sell it myself. There’s just too much hassle with that option and the dealer gave me a fair trade allowance.

After the typical haggling, I negotiated the purchase and it came time to return to the dealership to close the deal. In order to accomplish the task at hand, I had to remove all the items from my old vehicle. This vehicle was a full size GMC Sierra with a ton of storage compartments and guess what? All the compartments were full of stuff that had accumulated over the four years I had owned the truck. There were golf balls, garage door openers, sunglasses, books, mail, brochures, business cards and plenty of other stuff, most outdated with no current value.

I filled a large cardboard box with all the stuff. 1/4 of the contents will be transferred to the new vehicle and the remaining 3/4 will land in the trash. I found myself experiencing a sense of "cleasining" through the process. Couldn’t help but not to think about "life" in that regard. I pondered all the useless stuff that we hold on to in our lives. Bad things like envy, guilt and revenge to name a few that would be far better off tossed in the trash.

We find directives regarding cleansing in both the New and Old Testaments. Ezekiel 36:25 and Psalm 51:7 are examples from each. 1 John 1:9 is my favorite as it reminds us: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just in forgiving our sins and cleansing us from unrighteousness". I don’t know about you but I have an overwhelming thankfulness for that promise. For me, God must have an extra large cardboard box.

Charlie Gray