In The End, It’s Just Stuff

Our family is spending the weekend clearing out my grandparents house.

Granddaddy passed this summer and Grandma moved to an assisted living home. She is in a private, one-bedroom apartment, so we really had to scale back how much she could bring with her. When you’ve been married for 68 years and lived to be 94 and 88, you collect stuff, and a lot of it!

THIS is their grandfather clock. For the last 38.5 years when I think of their home, I think of this clock. It’s seen and heard so much as a member of the Frost family. It knew many of the people I never got a chance to meet, like my great-grandfather Mack Butler. Everyone says he was the sweetest man on earth. I WISH I could have looked into his eyes just one time and said hello. He was the seventh son of a seventh son. Born on the seventh day and died on the 17th day at 7 p.m. during his 70th year of life IN 1970. For you believers, yes, seven is the number of completeness and perfection. I imagine he was perfect as he loved his family and my great-grandma, Icy.

As we watched people attend the estate sale and walk way with furniture, paintings and knick knacks, I realized in the end, it’s all just stuff. We can’t take stuff with us.

Ironically, last week I created this sign because I’m so over the clutter of things scattered around the house (we have two little kids…..so, yeah). Maybe today’s experience will encourage me to get rid of more stuff I don’t even know is there, hiding in a closet, drawers and the garage.

I’m so blessed and grateful for the things we have to make life comfortable and convenient, but I’m never going to forget that at the end of the day, it’s just stuff.