We’ve moved into a new phase of parenting. We’ve moved beyond toys into electronics and specific interests. My youngest, who says he wants to be a chef or baker when he grows up, asked for a variety of kitchen supplies for Christmas. After receiving several pieces – including mixing bowls, a frying pan, and a small ice cream maker among others – he needed a place to house all his things.
That meant I had to go to work in the kitchen and find him a place to store his new goodies. I wasn’t prepared for that.
I emptied about half of my cabinets to find him some space. As I began to pull things out of the back corners and top shelves that require the use of a stepstool, I discovered something else I wasn’t prepared to think about. There is a lot of junk taking up space that I need for better things.
I stood there, slightly overwhelmed, and looking in disbelief at the number of plastic cups and “refillable” popcorn buckets from movies and sporting events. There were leftover supplies from birthdays and school parties along with containers without lids and lids without containers – some of them of the very popular Cool Whip variety. I threw away two trash bags full of junk and didn’t even get through half of my cabinets.
Invaluable things were taking up valuable space. Oh, how often I have done that in my life. How often I’ve done that in my heart. I’ve been guilty of hanging on to things that don’t have value and letting them clutter up space that I need for important things.
As we head into a new year, and through a season of gift-giving, we might find ourselves in a time of decluttering or purging. That is often the case as we end a year. We want to take a bit of inventory and position ourselves better for the start of a new year.
In Psalm 51 after David has committed adultery with Bathsheba, we find him wanting to clean out his heart.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10, NIV)
None of us are perfect and therefore need to keep cleaning out our hearts and minds. I’m certain there are feelings that no longer fit, junky thoughts that are keeping me from storing the good ones I’m supposed to be dwelling on. Do you ever feel like the stuff you don’t want is getting in the way of you living your best life?
Approach the new year in whatever way works for you but allow me to suggest taking a small pause to declutter your mind and purge your heart of things that don’t belong there or have outlived their usefulness. Don’t hold on to anger, worry, and disappointment that’s in the past. They’re taking up valuable real estate in your life. Clear out the corners and high shelves of your heart and make room for things of value.
We don’t have to hang on to every thought that pops into our heads or Satan tries to plant there. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts. To guard anything means to protect and care for it. We are the gatekeepers of our hearts and minds. We get to choose what we believe is worth keeping and what needs to be thrown out.
If it isn’t something I need, if it gets in the way of something I do need, then it isn’t a good deal and it isn’t worth keeping no matter how it’s packaged. We don’t need random containers without lids in our cabinets, and we don’t need to keep our hearts full of mistakes or disappointments. We need to follow David’s example. He was, after all, a man after God’s own heart, according to Acts 13:22. Let’s open the doors of our hearts and lives and ask God to help us declutter.
Friends don’t take all that unnecessary junk into a new year. Toss it out. Free your heart and mind of the clutter that is taking up precious space and getting in the way of the good stuff. When we do that, we’re in better shape to be who God created us to be.
Heavenly Father as we end another year, I pray you would help us to declutter the places in our lives that need it. Free us of the baggage and junk that needs to be left in the past. Cut it loose and unburden us today. I pray that each person reading this can walk into a new year with a clean heart, a clean mind, and be prepared for the goodness you have in store. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Comments
Beautiful I plan on some great changes this year!