The one in the way back is from the staff at the Bennington Free Library – my coworkers for the last two plus years – many short thanks and well wishes. The lighthouse is from a coworker who retired; she came in to say goodbye at my last staff meeting a week back. The Garden card is from the woman who has been my Baby & Toddler Story Time partner; her work and creativity added so much to that program, and she made each Tuesday fun.

The final card is from Arlo. I’ve watched him grow over the past couple of years, and watched him become a big brother to Finn. His mother helped him by writing the words he spoke verbatim. The drawings are all his.

In a relatively short period of time, most of the people who signed these cards won’t think of me often; in a couple of years, very few will remember I’d spent time in their presence. And that’s as it should be. We risk losing the gift of those who are in our lives in the present if we spend most of our lives dwelling in the company of former neighbors and colleagues. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have an effect: it means that the love and grace we gave has been woven into the lives of others without us being recognized as its source – the gift is still precious, it’s just lost it’s tag.

Thanks be to God for all the precious gifts I’ve been given, especially the ones whose tags have been lost to time.

Unless you happened to look closely before yesterday, you wouldn’t know that the empty cubby used to hold more cookbooks. A few are already packed up for the move, but most are in the recycle pile.

The same is true of this book case. Books in poor condition, books not opened in years, and books that can bring joy to others have been removed. What’s left is an emptiness that’s taken up residence between what remains. What has been present in my living space is absent.

No longer present, Absent, is not the same thing as leaving a Void behind. This Absent isn’t removing anything vital or necessary; instead, it’s leaving room to see more clearly what is left – and offering me a chance to see if what remains is truly vital or necessary. Absent relieves my arms of lugging heavy boxes that crowd my living space; Absent also relieves me of the weight that too many possessions places on my mind and soul.

For the fourth time in just under three years, I’m getting ready to move from one home to another. Not everything will make it into boxes and onto the truck. Enough will remain for guests to stay here in the rectory in relative comfort – cook a decent meal, take a hot shower, and sleep in a comfortable bed.

What is necessary, beautiful, and life-enhancing will be boxed and delivered. What is no longer needed, just taking up space, will be donated, recycled, or thrown out. Sorting through it all isn’t quick or easy: it’s an exercise of intention and of spiritual discernment, letting go of material things burden rather than uplift. These accumulated things have taken up psychic, emotional, and spiritual space as well as shelf and closet room. It’s time to lighten the load.