It is a running joke in our family that Ashlyn is the world's biggest pack rat. When she was a toddler she would come into the house every day with rocks, leaves, flower petals or random sticks and say that it was for her "collection". We never could quite narrow down exactly what it was that she was collecting. I guess if we were looking for a category to file her collection under it would be "everything"…she collected everything.
When she was in preschool I started gathering some of the art projects and papers that she did at school. I saved a few writing samples to document her progress and so we could remember things like the cute little way she wrote her name.
Ever the "collector", Ashlyn quickly started adding to the box. In first and second grade she would run home and put her workbook pages from school into the box. Every. Single. One. Soon the box was completely full so when Ashlyn would go to school I would weed through the box, saving only the most special papers.
On Saturday as we were purging the garage of unnecessary junk, Ashlyn decided to go through the box. At one point she looked at me and said, "Why did I keep all of this stuff?!" We went though the box together laughing about the little notes and drawings that she created when she was younger.
Ashlyn decided on her own that she didn't need to keep every paper that she ever put in the box. As we searched the box we also found some cards from friends and teachers. And then we came across a hidden treasure. A few Thanksgivings ago we each wrote a little note explaining what we were thankful for that year. Ashlyn saved just one of the notes…
"Thankful for being with family when there are so many people who don't have any family to be with today." -- Uncle Craig)
So I guess the lesson is that sometimes being a pack rat isn't so bad. Sometimes we save things and don't realize how valuable they are until later on. I am so thankful for the hidden blessings God reveals in His perfect time.
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