De-clutter Your Life

About a month ago, I wrote about “Treasures of the Heart”. Since that time our family has bought another house. Buying another house, means that we need to sell our house. This also means we need to de-clutter our house and get rid of some of the junk that has accumulated over the years.

So for one week we worked to got rid of some of the things that we could “never do without out” or “never part with”. We are now living in an uncluttered house, a house that is clean and free of the junk that just took up space, but had no purpose. I believe that we need to do this regularly, rather than every 10 years or so. My husband and I helped each other in deciding what each of us no longer needed. We had to remind each other of that several times. He would say to me: why would you keep that? And I would have to answer with a “good enough” reason. In the end we both realized if we hadn’t used it in a year and it was not a holiday item – pitch it! De-cluttering is so freeing and you will find yourself in a place of less stuff, more space and a place for everything that you really do need to keep.

It was amazing to me the stuff we had accumulated. The things that in the past were a treasure. But, as we worked our way through cleaning out our closets, we wondered “why did we keep this?” Or even worse “What is it?” :)

Isn’t that how our spiritual lives can be, too? We keep the old “treasures”. Hold onto things that seem to have so much value or maybe just something we cannot let go of. So we pack up these memories, these events, sometimes these are painful memories or events. But we pack up these “things” that we cling to. We put them in boxes and store them in closets of our lives. “Just in case” or “maybe someday”.


I believe that periodically it is good to unpack the boxes of our personal and spiritual lives and make some decisions. We all have things that we keep in the “box of our life” that really don’t need to be in our lives. In regards to these things consider this: Does it serve a good purpose? Is it a necessity for my life? Does it really need to be kept?

Maybe with the help of someone who knows you well, I would encourage you to periodically unpack the things in your “lifebox”. Make some tough decisions and then get rid of the things that are just filling your life, but are not beneficial to your life. The things that just take up space and keep us bound to something that has no real meaning. The painful events and memories that we hang onto, when it would be so much better to let them go and move on.

De-clutter your life. I really believe you will be glad that you did.

Andrew

I shed a tear or two last week for my son, Andy. We were privileged to hear his Senior presentation [a time when the student shares his high school experience with his parents] Also, this past Sunday we celebrated his public profession of his faith in God.   [Andy is wearing the orange and black shirt in the picture.]  My heart was exploding with gladness and gratefulness to the One who changes our lives and enters our heart when we ask him to. Andy is named in part for the disciple Andrew in the Bible. Andrew appears very few times in the Bible, yet almost all of those times he is bringing someone to Jesus. [Wouldn’t that be a neat thing to be remembered for?]

Andy’s life verse is Jeremiah 29:11-14 – “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD.” We prayed for Andy to seek hard after God. And he did. However, God also sought Andy. He came looking for Andy. He drew Andy to Himself. While we prayed - God was at work. God is faithful.

The name Andrew means “strong, manly, warrior” and trust me when I say this - he has lived out that name.   Andy has always been strong-willed, in the good sense and in the “not so good” sense. He has always cared for people and been a compassionate person, to those who were hurting. He has made people laugh with a smart comment or funny story. Andy has also been a warrior and I have cried for him as I watched him battle some things in life, things that were very challenging for him to walk through.

Andy graduates from high school in two days. He plans to pursue a double major in Digital Media Production and Computer Science. A magnet on my fridge says this: “There are two things you give your children: one is roots, the other is wings.” We gave him roots and now it’s time for us to give him his wings.

Andy: go out and do everything for God’s glory. Use the gifts God has given you to bless others and to help others see God. God knows the plans He has for you, Andy. Continue to call on Him and pray to Him. Continue to seek Him with all your heart and know that I will be here praying. Love you, Andy. Love, mom

The New Normal

I have often heard the phrase “the new normal”. That phrase is often said when something changes, and things how you knew them to be will never be what they were before the change. Change is all around us. I look out at the new leaves on the trees, showing me that spring has arrived [finally!]. I have been buying new clothes for the kids. They are growing and changing. I read back through some of my old journals – I have changed. Relationships change. People come into our lives and sometimes they go.

Things change… we learn to live “the new normal” many times in our lives.

Change can sometime be viewed as a bad thing. And sometimes it can be. Yet, many times change is a good thing – even the changes that are painful at the time. Winter to spring is probably my favorite change that occurs every year. The snowy, cold, strong winds of winter give way to warm, sunshiny days that reveal new buds on every tree. Our lives can be like that, too.

 If we let them - the harsh “winters” of our lives can lead to something even more beautiful: springtime in our lives. Where we live with the expectation of what will be.

Throughout the changing seasons in our lives; in the ebb and flow of life, sometimes it does seem like we are trying to find a foundation [a sure place to stand] while on shifting sand. The story from Matthew 7 of the wise man and the foolish man reminds us where to “plant” our feet, where to build our life. God is the solid rock. One of my favorite songs [“In Christ Alone by: Travis Cottrell] includes the phrase “On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.” He is the “sure” thing when changes come into our lives.

Hebrews 13:8 reminds us where to put our hope during those times of shifting sand - “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He will never move. He will always “be there”. He is always the same. He will never change.