I adore office supply stores or the office-supply section of Target or Walmart. It’s a weird sort of obsession. I especially love the items promising improved organization. My kids’ rooms are filled with stuff from IKEA to keep their toys better organized and their desks homework ready.
However, these amazing organizational items instead seem to add more clutter to my house rather than help me clear it. Sometimes we are covered in so much stuff, I’m not even sure where it all comes from. There are the necessary paperwork items from school or work. Can anyone say open enrollment for benefits? My kitchen table is covered with handouts from work trying to navigate the world of healthcare sign-up.
I want to be more organized. I want to teach my kids to be more organized. Why? Because it helps to be more present and peaceful rather than shoving things in drawers or file cabinets to create the appearance of perfect.
Look, I get it. My home will never look like something out of Better Homes & Gardens if someone randomly stopped by. Right now, I have a herd of dinosaurs on my coffee table which according to my five-year-old are fighting an epic battle to the death and therefore cannot be put away. I could be the mom that requires all toys be put away before bed but I’m not. I want to see how the epic battle ends in my kid’s imagination. So sometimes the clutter of toys is a good thing.
The problems arise when our clutter keeps us from pursuing the best God has in mind. When my home gets so lived in (my euphemism for messy), I have problems thinking, being creative, and functioning to my full potential. See, I want to live life full out. I want to grab a fist full of thankful for all the blessings God has given me. This is hard to do when I’m bogged down by stuff and I see my attachment to said stuff.
I’ve struggled with this my whole life. As a kid my mom gave me a sign to put over my desk that said, “A cluttered desk is not the sign of a cluttered mind.” I think she gave this to me as motivation to clean my room which normally became an epic battle; kind of like the dinosaurs on my coffee table.
I want to be clear this doesn’t mean we all have to be clean freaks and everything has to be put back or clean at night. I’m not that type of person and each of us has a different level of comfort with clutter. The problems arise when the clutter keeps us from our calling. Meaning if we have the gift of hospitality and God is calling us to host a foreign exchange student but we can’t get through the piles of clean, unfolded laundry on the guest bed to offer up the room, then this is keeping us from God’s best.
How can we make our lives simpler so we can answer the calling of God? Here are four steps to make it easier.
1. Ask ourselves why are we keeping these items? Is it something we need to make a decision on? Then if you’re having problems with the decision, ask God for direction and guidance on how to move forward or for the ability and strength to let the item go. Psalm 37:23 (NKJV) states, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.”
2. Ask ourselves if we are holding onto something because of guilt or obligation. If a family member gave you something, then they are giving you permission to have it. Meaning it’s all yours and you can do whatever you want with it including give it away or sell it or throw it out. If something comes with strings attached, kindly, graciously give it back to the person who gave it to you. God’s love comes with no strings attached. He loves us just for the way we are, flaws and all. If gifts come with strings, they aren’t gifts at all. Romans 5:8 (NKJV) states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
3. Are we hoping for a different outcome? Are we hanging onto an ex-boyfriend sweatshirt in hopes that we will get back together again or that he’ll really want it back and he’ll have to call us? Give it back, no strings attached. If the situation was meant to turn out differently, God will make it happen. God doesn’t want to keep his best from us but sometimes the other person has to change or we need to grow to make that relationship work. God might have something better for us all together. Let it go and give it to God. Proverbs 4:25-27 (NIV) states, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
4. Still having problems letting stuff go? Pray about it. My earnest prayer every day is God, please help me let go of what is weighing me down. I mean this in both the spiritual realm and the physical realm. There are things or situations I’m not even aware of or a hold onto things emotionally. God gently points them out and then I can get rid of the physical thing in my environment attached to these emotions. God is a God of freedom and forgiveness. Allow him to set us free from our emotional and physical clutter to reach the dreams he has for us. Colossians 3:2 (NIV) states, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Are there things you need to get rid of emotionally or physically? Share in the comments below so we can pray for you.