Jesus saves.

Jesus saves. I should know. He saved me three times. Once as a teenager at Camp Tecuya with a Good News Bible in one hand and a "you're going to hell" cassette in the other. Once at a Billy Graham crusade. And the last time when I was 24 and baptized Lutheran by Pastor Rebecca alongside Joey Dooley. I'm pretty Sure He'd do it again if I let him.

I'm also sure that, in His Birkenstocks and linen robes, He was not a big fan of hanging on to unnecessary stuff. 

I've been doing a lot of purging lately. Old photos (thank you Google Drive), jewelry, clothes, furniture, kitchen items, tools, shoes. Old texts, emails, contacts. I've "unfriended" Facebook people who I no longer need in my life. I've even reset my Roku, Netflix and Amazon passwords. Whatever. Anything that is, in my mind, not worth hanging onto or that is reminiscent of the "old me." There is something brilliant and freeing about it. Really. 

And I've saved some stuff too. Coins collected from my mother and grandparents, sea shells, sentimental pieces of costume jewelry and good friends. 

I've even begun remodeling my bathroom. What started out as a really bad mood blossomed into a total gut. New tub, sink, fixtures, tile.  I had originally intended to salvage some stuff but as I went on, it went too. The bathroom mirror- vent- vanity light. So yes, the towel rings are nearly exactly the same as the old ones. But they had to go. I did keep the toilet and the back shower wall in its original brick (the jury is still out on that one though). But, for me, it ultimately is about starting over and beginning fresh. 

I'll save some stuff. And I'll continue to get rid of that which doesn't work for me anymore. 

So yes, Jesus saves. 

But I'm pretty sure He was a fan of the purging too.