I am not a minimalist. Not in any way, shape or form. My family actually laughed when I told them that the subject I was going to be writing about was decluttering. My daughter even teasingly went as far as to say that I like to hoard things. I certainly do not, I would call myself a "collector". At least I do not hoard "things", anyway. But there is something I do hoard. It is a quiet, little secret I keep. No one knows it is there... We moved recently. For those of you who have ever moved, you know it is a great time to purge all the old, unneeded things in your closets, your cupboards, your basement, your garage. A perfect time to minimize what you take with you to your new home. So that is what I spent several months doing. Going through it all-deciding what should be kept and what should be gotten rid of. So what is it that I discovered during this time that I hoard? My family might guess it is candles, or washi tape, flea market finds, or all my children's artwork. But it's not. It is something less tangible. Something that often steals my peace. Steals my purpose at times. And perhaps you hoard it too.... Maybe you haven't moved, but perhaps you are decluttering some closets, storage spaces, or cabinets. Maybe, like me, you have gone through buried boxes of memories and trinkets. And maybe, just maybe, you are starting to realize there is more to declutter in your life than just closets. I realized that while all these "memories" were out of sight, they were still there. So no, I don't hoard washi tape or flea market finds. I don't even hoard those letters and trinkets. What I found was that I do hoard the shame and hurtful words that have been spoken to me in some of them. I have kept them secret. Guarded them carefully. Refusing to let go, allowing them to be etched on a name plate that somehow tells me that is who I am. I hoard them into my heart. And as they build up, all jam-packed in there, they squeeze out room for Jesus. They squeeze out space for light, for truth, for an identity in Christ. I started to feel a little nudge the more I thought about it. Do you feel one too? A gentle prodding that it is time to move, time to throw away all those things that are not good, not true, unkind, and shameful? A nudge that propels us to pitch them into a dumpster and make space for what the Lord wants to fill us with? We can declutter everything around us and yet forget to do the same within us. And when we forget our heart in this cleaning process, we impede the transforming God wants to do in our lives. Paul clearly tells us in Philippians 4:8 about the importance of our innermost thoughts, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Let those words be a soft, gentle nudge to encourage us all to make space. To clean out our hearts. To think on what is true and toss out the lies we have been fed or the ones we tell ourselves. To throw away the "you're not good enough"s or the "I am not pretty"s. To toss out the "unloveable"s and the "unforgiveable"s. To once and for all pitch into the dumpster all the "should have done"s, all the wordly comparisons of what we should look like, what we should have accomplished. To release all the expectations of perfect parenting, all the the things that have happened in our pasts that have labeled us or have caused us to label ourselves. To Make space. To leave only thoughts that are good and right and true and fill our hearts with Jesus. To leave a space wide open to fill it with these simple truths: I am redeemed (Romans 3:24) I am chosen (Ephesians 1:4) I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:7) I am loved (Jeremiah 31:3) I am wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) I am a child of God (John 1:12) I am firmly rooted and built up in Christ (Colossians 2:7) I am God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) I cannot be separated from the love of God (Romans 8:35) I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13) I don't know what hurtful words or memories that are still held in your heart, allowing them to take up room, but today? Today, let's take a step together in making new the home of our hearts. Let's start with tossing out just a few things first and begin filling it with peace, an identity in Christ, and the all-surpassing love of God that belongs to each of us!
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23 Blessings, Elizabeth
1 Comment
|
Meet ElizabethWife. Mother. Writer. Photographer. Child of God. Encouraging others in faith through a lens of grace and seeing beauty in the ashes. All images and content belong to me (Blue Jean Gypsy), unless otherwise noted. You may use an image ONLY if it is linked back to this blog! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
Click on the above links to follow on facebook, instagram, pinterest and twitter! Archives
April 2020
CategoriesThis website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of Cookies |