THE RIPE TIME?

I’ve written about this subject more than once. Whenever I do, friends and family often think something’s wrong. Far as I know everything’s good under the hood. There are a few frayed wires and leaks but nothing serious.

During my early life I gave death little thought. The teen years were when I first remember hearing a pastor read Hebrews 9:27 in a sermon.

“It is appointed for man to die. After this comes the judgment.”

He went on to say that everyone was going to die sooner or later. Like a kick to the stomach, I quickly realized this included me. I brushed it off until a good friend explained things further. He reassured me there’s life after death.

Using verse John 3:16 as guidance, Jeff Thimsen led me to Jesus Christ. After that life changing moment, I knew I was ready for judgment day; spiritually speaking. I didn’t give my earthly preparation nary a second thought.

Over the years I’ve had opportunity to see many friends, family, and acquaintances pass away. Some seemed prepared and others not. One man had so many antique tractors, that it took three auctions to get rid of them all. He started downsizing long before his judgment day. Others didn’t make the same plans.

My wife and I made a decision 20 years ago to purchase a burial plot and have a gravestone put in place. That seemed bizarre to our children at the time. They didn’t understand such irrational thinking. Now they do. It’s just one last thing they’ll have to do when we go.

A few years back, I asked a good friend, John Ballard, how do we know when it’s the right time to start getting rid of things. John said it was interesting that I asked, because he’d just made that decision himself. He didn’t know at this juncture that he had mesothelioma. A few years later John passed away from the cancer.

We’ve been slowly getting rid of junk this past year. Just the other day I sold a car that I’ve owned for 46 years. It was hard to do but I felt the time was ripe.

Joleen has furniture and things she inherited from her grandparents and parents. We’ve hung onto it for many years, but I say it’s time to bid farewell. It’s better to start doing so now, even though we hope to be around for many more years.

The one important item we haven’t done yet is have a will or living trust drawn up. Friends tell us we need one. Joleen agrees. I see things a bit different.

If we get rid of all our plunder, the legal document will be nothing more than a blank sheet of paper. Maybe that’s reason enough for us to hang on to some of my stuff. I mean, we do need to leave the kids something!