Letting Go: Trading "Stuff" for Trust

As I prepare to move to Romania for this next chapter of mission work, one of the strangest and most time-consuming parts of the process has been getting rid of all of my stuff.

For years, I’ve rented an apartment with roommates in San Diego, and like most people, I slowly collected furniture, books, clothes, home décor, and trinkets. But as my lease ended, I had nowhere to put anything. My parents have a renter in my old room, and storage wasn’t really an option. So, little by little, it began to go.

Over the past month, I’ve been selling nearly all my belongings—mostly through Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp. At first it was easy. A nightstand here, a picture frame there—it felt freeing going through all of my things and letting go of things I didn’t even remember I had! But slowly my apartment started emptying out, and the reality of living without things set in. I spent my last nights in San Diego sleeping without a bed, without storage, without the little comforts that make life feel normal (talk about preparation for a mission trip!).

And then came the garage sale.

The Saturday before I left, a sweet couple from church offered their home to host it since my apartment wasn’t an option. What started as me just trying to offload my belongings turned into something so much bigger. I asked friends from the gym, work, and church if they had items they wanted to donate, with all proceeds going to support the Revive Eastern Europe program I’ll be serving with in Romania. The response was overwhelming—we even had to rent a U-Haul to bring it all over! Friends from my church small group woke up at the crack of dawn, showed up to help sort, price, and sell. By the end of the day, we had raised $620.25 for the mission, and everything left over was donated to Goodwill.

When it was all said and done, I was left with just two suitcases: one staying at my parents’ house with a few items I couldn’t part with, and one I’ll be taking with me to Romania. Everything else—gone.

And here’s what I’ve learned through it all: it’s just stuff.

At first, selling things online was difficult and extremely time-consuming, but I quickly realized—there are always ten cuter versions of whatever I’m selling (some of the Facebook Marketplace listings I saw were so tempting!). None of it lasts, none of it really matters. Letting go has given me a fresh start, no strings attached. For the first time in years, I feel completely unanchored to things, or a place. The world feels wide open.

But more than anything, this process has been deeply spiritual.

I now have no job, no home, and essentially no worldly possessions. That’s a pretty vulnerable place to be. But instead of fear, I’ve felt a surprising peace. It’s reminded me that God is the provider, not me. He will give me everything I need. I don’t have to hold onto things so tightly to feel secure—I just have to hold onto Him.

As Psalm 24:1-2 reminds me:

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.”

And as Ecclesiastes 5:15 says:

“Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.”

How wild is it to really live like these verses are true? To act as though nothing is mine, because it’s not—everything is God’s. That has been my challenge this past month. I’ve realized how often I cling to “my” stuff, “my” time, “my” money, “my” comfort. But when it’s all stripped away, what’s left is God—and He is enough.