Cluttered


            I have been cleaning today. I have a cabinet where I place things I don’t think I should throw away but I’m not sure where to put them, it is akin to a junk drawer (c’mon, everyone has one of those). As I have sorted through papers and cards, I have uncovered some gems of memories that brought smiles and laughter.  For instance, I found a letter from my daughter pleading her case to “abstain” from school one particular Friday. In general, I found a great many papers that have no meaning to me; I haven’t laid eyes on them for anywhere from months to years, I’m pretty sure I have discarded the equivalent of a young oak tree today.  I am pleased with my ability to part with these things but it raises a bigger question, why did I feel the need to hold onto them in the first place?

            This leads me to question what emotional clutter am I hanging onto that separates me from the gem of life with Christ?  I keep playing the “if only” game with myself too.  If only Don were still here; if only I were thinner; if only I were smarter; if only I had a companion; if only…  All those “if onlys” are actually preventing me from being the person I need to be here and now.  I have to stop waiting for something to change and forge ahead to be me now!

            As Christians, there really is no waiting.  We have eternal life now.  We need to maintain that perspective in order to live a fearless life. When we look forward to eternity with joy, there is nothing on earth that can take that away.

            “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19, 20
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