I am an admitted pack rat. My closets were full from top to bottom with stuff and more stuff. Boxes of days gone by, thirty two pairs of shoes, clothes that didn’t fit, clothes that weren’t mine, DVD’s and a pair of boxing gloves. It had to be cleaned out so I went to work. All in all I got rid of 8 large trash bags of assorted stuff and 8 trash bags of clothes.
pictures of his beloved children and grandchildren…
I put my mom’s small safe away but forgot where I put it. Found it in the closet! Hubby broke the lock for lack of a key and inside was birth certificates, other papers and the contents of my dad’s wallet. Inside were his driver’s license, social security card and pictures of his beloved children and grandchildren.
Strange enough there was a Big Green Egg business card. You’d have to know my dad to understand this card. He loved to cook, and grill and the Big Green Egg was his pride and joy. He could grill, or slow cook any meat of any species he wanted to on this thing. I suppose he kept the card just in case he ran into a problem.
My shoe collection was larger than I thought. Thirty two pairs of shoes which include, boots, heels both toe in and toe out, slip ons, flip flops, sandals, tennis shoes and a pair of pink slippers. These feet are ready for anything this Georgia weather can throw at them.
Books, books and more books! I already have a library in my home, now I have enough for two. The best, most unselfish thing to do would be to donate some of my books to the county library. But will I do it? Dunno
God revealed something to me today about closet cleaning and my heart.
I pack and save this stuff because most of it has meaning. When I let go of it I feel as though I am getting rid of a part of my life. However it’s a cleaning process that needs to be done. I do feel good when I can see the bottom. I have room to breathe. I need to breathe. All the “stuff” suffocates me. Holds me back. When I finally bag it up I’m free to walk in and out of my closet to see everything clearly.
Sometimes I don’t even know who I am.
Life is like that too. I stuff myself full of pain and hurt, anger and fear then keep it bottled up till I’m about to burst. It’s ugly when I burst. There’s no room for anyone, not even God, and abundant life here on earth is out the door. (John 10:10) Relationships and life abundant are buried under my clutter. Sometimes I don’t even know who I am.
But when I take off my masks, and clean out my heart of the clutter by releasing it, I can find space to breathe. Jesus is my Space Giver. He takes the boxes, and clutter and frees me from the junk in my soul.
My Space Giver I love You and thank You that I am free because You take the burdens of my heart and let me breathe again.
Matthew 11:28 -30 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Julie Moore
Grace Full Women
Thank you for this beautiful and honest post. I can be a pack rat, too, and I also associate emotion or sentiment to things. I was just talking about this on Facebook today, actually, because I’m cleaning a bunch of stuff out.
God has been showing me that I don’t honor the person who gave me such and such if it makes my house cluttered. If I don’t use it, all it does is create an environment chaos, and my loved ones do not want that for me. So, layer by layer, I’m getting rid of stuff, and also peeling away the layers in my heart, too.
You know Aimee that’s a great way to look at it. I’m not sure my parents would want me to crowd my house full of their things and make myself and family miserable just to keep their memories around either. Thanks for your comment.
I so appreciate this post … I have seen so often that when are homes are cluttered with all kinds of stuff, our hearts often are, too. There’s such a huge link between our living spaces and the state of our souls.
This is a huge challenge for a number of women, and I address this whole clutter/state of our hearts issue often as I write. These resources might add to the conversation –
THE ALBATROSS AROUND OUR NECKS
http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2011/07/albatross-around-our-necks.html
CLUTTER 201
http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2009/03/clutter.html
Wonderful way of looking at life. I often unload my bags of “stuff” at my Savior’s feet. But I always seem to find myself taking it back piece by piece.
Yep I can certainly relate to that Sarah. I lay my things down before Him and rest in Him for a while. There’s such peace in His rest. Then before you know it I’ll try picking it back up and the peace just leaves. Ahhh when will we learn…
Great picture of how cluttered my soul can get with all the ‘stuff’ I think I need to be, to do, to measure up.
Ahhhhh….breathe….let it go….
Thanks for the precious reminder, Julie, of the wide-open breathing space I can have for my life – in Christ!
Thanks Teri for your encouraging comment. I want for you and all of us to be all we are in Christ and there is no clutter there just pure refreshing air.
Stuff has a way of getting in the way! When we allow space into our lives, life and the Giver of Life has so much more room to work in!
Great post!
Bernice
THE best organizational tool EVER (and you probably already have it!)
Exactly Bernice. it’s up to us to move over and make room to allow Him to work. thanks for your comment.