“Clutter causes stress.” That statement is something I heard my mom say a long time ago that really stuck with me. I am not sure where she heard it, but I immediately related to it.
I have always been one to enjoy organization—the process and the benefits!! I have been known to get rid of things and then regret it…on occasion. If I don’t have a place, or room, for something, then I question if it is something that I really need to have or keep. When I shop, I often think about what I will do with something; or where I will put it before I make the decision to buy it. And sometimes, it may be that it will replace an item I already have. Granted, there are items that I know that I will love and enjoy enough to make room!
When the process of organization begins, it is usually because either a system I have tried is not working or needs tweaked; or maybe I have gotten busy and clutter has happened! Thus, the DE-cluttering process begins!
After Christmas is the perfect example. My study / prayer room [“War Room” ]*(1) is usually the catch-all during the holiday. Try as I might to keep that pile-up from happening, it usually does…from wrapping paper and bags to presents and mail! Afterward, I survey the ‘damage’ and begin the process. I have to start somewhere, so I guess I usually pick a spot or an item to get going. I start putting things in their proper place, find a new place, transfer it, or prepare it for transPORT! Moving from one thing to the next, I may move something out of the way knowing that I will need to return to it, but I deal with first things first, so to speak.
By the time the process is complete, and the room is returned to its intended purpose, there is a sense of relief and satisfaction. Progress has been made!
I think this can be a great analogy for our spiritual walk. Sometimes, we can get busy—or even lazy, and things start to pile up…become cluttered. It is kind of hard to see where we were, or how things got where they are now. At Christmas, I can see the room piling up, but in a time crunch, I find it hard to stop. It can be the same in our walk with Christ. Maybe the busyness has somewhat overtaken, and we can see that we need a little maintenance but the time crunch has put us in a bit of a bind.
As a wife and mother (even though my kids are now grown), when my home is out of whack and greatly lacking, there is a sense of imbalance. I need to stop and take inventory…
Am I too busy? Too lazy? Unmotivated?
I need to look at the why if any of those answers is yes. And then start the process. Not that I keep my home perfect—or perfectly clean by any means!! If you came to visit me, you should not expect perfection! But, my time there definitely is an important part of the process.
We can apply the same to our spiritual walk…because spending time with Christ is an important part of the process in maintaining it and keeping it decluttered in order to move forward.
After I decluttered my ‘Christmas room,’ and I got ready to enter the next day, I had the sense that the clutter was still there. But then I walked around the corner and there was a sense of awe, relief, and satisfaction with the result…almost as if I could breathe a little deeper. I think it is the same with matters of the heart. When we take on the clutter that causes the stress, and surrender the mess, there is a sense of relief that we will want to continue to revisit and maintain.
…and it is most definitely a matter to celebrate!!
*(1)From the movie, War Room; Sony Pictures, Culver City, CA; 2015.
Simply Celebrate With Jackie 