Looking around the living room floor of my mind I am surrounded. There is stuff everywhere. Garbage mixed with forgotten gifts. Old, dirty laundry next to that special thing I had forgotten about. Clean, perfectly functional things that are covered in the cobwebs of neglect.
When we’re cleaning something out things often look worse before they look better. If we know that going in we can push through to something more beautiful.
Now that we’ve dug out some of the mess that was hiding in our hearts what do we do with it?
Let’s start by sorting things out. Maybe you spent some time thinking about the things deep in your heart. Maybe you wrote some things down. Maybe you haven’t done anything yet, but you want to.
Start with what you’ve dug out so far. Really think about things and break them up into categories. Much like the KEEP, DONATE, THROW AWAY of cleaning out your house, try putting your heart things into categories. (Writing it down helps, a lot. You can make lists or doodle or draw, but put it on paper.)
Here are a few categories to consider:
Forgive
There are people we need to forgive. It’s easy to hold little offenses against people without even realizing it. The freedom that comes from forgiveness is one of the most cleansing gifts you can give yourself.
Treasures
These are gifts or special things that are easy to forget about. Quite honestly, I forgot that I’m a good leader. Now that I’ve uncovered that I need to ask God what to do with it. This is a beautifully scary category for me. But if I remember I don’t have to do anything with it in my own strength it is less overwhelming.
Get Rid Of
Some things just need to be tossed. I’ve mentioned before how anger is an issue for me. I don’t want to be an angry person anymore. Insecurity and fear have plagued me for as long as I can remember. I’m tired of them taking up residence in my heart. I’m ready for an eviction that only God can give. These are all about giving it to God. I know these are too big for me to defeat on my own. It’s time my giants trembled because they have giants too.
When you feel like sitting on the floor and putting your head in your hands, remember you are not sitting there alone. Click To TweetLord, show me that you are here with me as I assess what’s in my heart.
Reveal things I need to forgive, remind me of treasures long hidden, and give me the courage to toss things I don’t need.
Thank you for being so gentle and loving with me.
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It’s so helpful to remember that once we start the cleaning and sorting process, we will find so much hidden away that needs to be embraced AND things that need to be discarded. Blessings to you in your unpacking.
Yes! The holding on and the letting go (and the wisdom to know which is needed!)
Great analogy, Rebecca. Once we begin the process of cleaning out our hearts, we do need to figure out what to do with the “stuff” we find there. While sometimes we do find a treasure, like remembering you are a good leader, there is often also a lot of junk to get rid of too.
I do love when we uncover long-hidden treasures 🙂
It’s always the right season to do some spring cleaning in our hearts! Thanks for going through the categories like this. It can get kinda cluttered in there and root out good things if we don’t do a deep dive and keep things straightened up in our hearts.
Amen, my friend! I know the cobwebs and clutter all too well!