Clutter

A few screwdrivers, scissors, nails, tape, batteries, buttons, remotes long forgotten, rubberbands, and more are lying in a drawer affectionately named the “junk drawer”.  A basket on one shelf holds loose change, extra pens, more buttons, paperclips, a princess lip gloss, and a token for free ice cream.  I am pretty sure we all have them – drawers, cabinets, shelves, baskets, an area where things accumulate.  Things that may be related to each other, but they are piled or dumped and slowly build with no real organization or sorting.  Other times the items might be random, thrown there during the mayhem of guests arriving.

I have been working on these places.  Picking one and sorting through the items.  A pile for goodwill, a box full of things to give to friends or family, a bag to store in the basement or attic – I sort the items until they are in their rightful place.  I move from one area to the next over days, and what I fear might take weeks as I add one more drawer or cabinet to the list.

We also have these drawers and cabinets in areas which might be hard to find – deep within our spirit.  We stuff things in there at times – an emotion here, a denial there, words here,  resentment there.  These things pile up until they begin bulging out of their space, and one day the door flies open and they all spill out.  We need to go through these areas too.  We need to process things that we have tucked away – deal with the emotion, let go of the words said.  We need to throw things out, give them away, or put them in their proper place and perspective.  As we sift through these places in our lives, and expose their contents to our Lord, he assists us in cleaning out the area, tidying up, and replacing it with clean and simplistic living.  A life with focus and meaning, and not stifled by the clutter of things in the past.

Psalm 51:1-12
“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. “