As I have mentioned, I'm in the process of preparing my house to go on market. Much downsizing and clearing out has had to be done. So in a sense I have had to grapple with this question, howsoever in a much less stark manner. In downsizing one conclusion became very clear--symbols are expendable so long as their meaning is retained. For example, I had many letters written to me by my mother when I was at various stages in my life. These letters all served to show her clarity of mind, purity of effort, practical generosity, the breath of her love and kindnesses–in short--the wide array of her fruit-of-the-Spirit disciplines. It was not easy to throw these letters in the trash. In a sense it was much like burying my mother all over again. But I had to ask myself what is really important – that I keep these relics or that I keep her spirit? I know what my mother would say despite my human tears.
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