So January 2019 has pretty much blown its way through existence faster than we could open up the last of our holiday gifts. Snow is still falling as the polar vortex hits the continental U.S., and here in Hawaii, we’ve gotten wind chills bringing the temps down to the 40’s and 50’s in some of our upper elevation areas. But this January, I’ve noticed that there was a bit of Spring in the air…. Spring Cleaning, that is.
Most of my friends are Marie Kondo-ing their homes right now. This new show on Netflix dropped this month and everywhere you turn people are asking themselves, “Does this spark joy?” Now, honestly, there’s quite a bit of love/hate that I’ve been overhearing on the socials with Marie Kondo, but you have to admit, many of us have been dealing with living with way too much stuff in our homes for way too long, so her methods are pretty successful.
De-cluttering. It’s not a new concept. As a person who loves all things organization (although I can’t actually DO it to save my life), I remember watching shows like Clean Sweep and Hoarders. These shows were fascinating to me. And while Clean Sweep had a more inspirational feel, Hoarders brought the shock and awe factor, instilling the fear that our homes should never. ever. get that bad. (Granted, the homeowners on that show were usually dealing with some deep-seeded issues that needed a lot of therapy, and more than just a giant dumpster.) As I watched these shows, more and more I wanted my own house to be clutter-free…and beautiful, and organized, and welcoming, and – well – I wanted my home to be just like the ones on t.v.
And there it was. With the arrival of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo came that familiar feeling that my house was just not good enough. And honestly, this large scale level of comparing (which was not limited to a 2.5 by 2.5-inch picture on my screen, but instead blared from my television, mocking my entire home) almost broke the year long battle that I had been fighting against comparison. As I watched the couple “tidy up” their home, I wanted my house to be clutter-free too. I mean look how happy and free it makes them, and I want to be that happy and free! My current state of life was not enough.
Scarcity, the feeling that we are not enough, that what we have is not enough, is a flat out LIE.
Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be decluttering and organization is not a necessity – not at all! It is important to be good stewards of what we have been blessed with, but our focus should never be on our outsides, but rather our insides. Our stuff doesn’t matter as much as our hearts behind it.
Decluttering our homes won’t matter if we don’t declutter our hearts first.
Yep. I’m going there. You see, as I watch these cleaning and organizing shows, I find myself again and again yearning for the joy and freedom that these couples and families feel at the end. I forget that I already have this joy and freedom at my fingertips. I forget that I’m already enough. I forget that I don’t need to do more to deserve it. It’s already been given to me. I just have to access it.
Real joy and freedom do not come from a clean home. They come from having a living, breathing relationship with Jesus.
When we acknowledge this, we are more apt to letting go of those things that do not really matter. We begin the hard work of decluttering our hearts…perhaps going through those things we are holding onto emotionally and instead of asking ourselves “Does this spark joy?” we ask “Is this of God?” Because honestly, there are things of God that might not be joyful… not yet anyway. And although the process is not overnight, the more of the little, insignificant things we can get rid of, the more space we make for the Spirit to work with us on the bigger, tougher issues.
And as the Spirit takes root in our now clear soul, we find that joy can exist with a week old pile of unfolded laundry on the couch. We find freedom in reading a bedtime story amidst a Lego minefield. We can find peace in reading God’s Word while dishes sit, piled in the sink. We begin to see what really matters. Eventually we find ourselves folding and caring for the clothes we’ve been blessed with, and doing dishes together as a family while talking about the funny things that happened at school. Or we might find ourselves sorting outgrown clothes and toys to donate to a shelter. And perhaps you’re called to reorganize the bookshelf so that it’s easier for your youngest to pick out her favorite bedtime stories. It all begins to fall into place when we put Jesus at the heart of it.
The focus becomes less of what we don’t have, and more about being the best stewards of what we’ve been given. My friend, let us experience true freedom. The freedom waiting for us right here in the arms of Jesus.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 CorINTHIANS 3:17 CSB
“Decluttering our homes won’t matter if we don’t declutter our hearts first.”
Mic drop.
So good.