Linen Napkins

A few events have converged resulting in our need to have a garage sale.  Last year my parents moved from a large house into a much smaller apartment.  My husband has been helping an elderly neighbor clean out her house.  Also, I’ve been actively working on identifying any “linen napkins” we have.

The author Gretchen Rubin describes a frequent problem in terms of linen napkins.  She WANTS to be the kind of person who hosts fancy dinner parties that would require purchasing linen napkins, but in her heart-of-hearts, she knows she is NOT that person.

My husband and I want to be the kind of people who regularly go camping, but at the end of the day, we find camping too work intensive for the enjoyment we receive.  Day hikes work much better for us.  Since our son is aging out of Scouts, we’re going to evaluate our camping gear.  Any other stuff that falls into this idea of linen napkins is going in the garage sale.

These realizations can be painful.  We all hold onto stuff that we will rarely or never use.  Letting go of our linen napkins is also letting go of the idea that we are the type people that use these things, part of our self-identity.  The pain is real but admitting to yourself that you will never become a French pastry chef, or the next Bob Ross also has a certain freeing quality, too.  Donating or selling those things which represent an idealized, but ultimately unattainable, version of yourself helps both you and someone who is genuinely interested in what you are discarding.

Holly talks about how relationships are the essence of life.  The relationship between our idealized self and our real self may be the most important relationship of all.  Understanding if we are linen napkin people or not linen napkin people allows us to truly know ourselves, which makes us more present in relationships with others and with Jesus.  Pretending something we are not leads to feelings of guilt and houses full of stuff.  I encourage you to identify your linen napkins and instead of ironing and storing them, let them go.

Creator,

You created each of us with an endless capacity for growth, but also with an individual personality which should direct that growth.  Help us to both know ourselves as we are and who we are capable of becoming.  Grace to us this week.  May we find it and may we give it away.

Amen

Michelle is a wife, mother, sister, and friend, a chocolate and coffee lover, reader of books, listener of podcasts, and a travel enthusiast.