Indian Giver

I'm taking a little e-course on World Religions -
not seeking to convert but to strengthen my own faith.
Two days ago there was a snippet that has stayed with me.
It is this.
Native Americans believe every object has a purpose,
every figurine
or book
or towel
or blanket
or anything.
Every thing was designed for a special purpose in life.
If one has a blanket,
it is designed to be used.
If one has six blankets,
one must use all of them.
If someone gives you a blanket and sees that you are using blankets
but not the one he or she gave you,
then you have too many.
The giver can take it away from you.

This has started me thinking
as I look around my cluttered house.
I have thousands of books,
some of them from college forty years ago.
There are dishes and crystal and silver
languishing away in cabinets
that I have not used in twenty years.

And my closet - O my!

How many things do I own that no longer give me pleasure
and lay hidden away?
I've never seen this as a sin.
Perhaps it is.

Perhaps God is calling me to bless the world
by allowing my hidden and forsaken things to fulfill their purpose.
I have new resolve
to clear last year's clutter from the surfaces in my home.
Resolve isn't always enough for me.
May this new year's resolve translate into action
one baby step at a time.

Does anyone need anything?