Clutter

If you know me very well... or even a little bit... you know that I don't do well with clutter. :) I like things tidy. Neat. Simple. I always have. As a little girl, I dreamed of having a house that looked a bit like Marilla Cuthbert's or maybe the Ingalls family. You know, plain and bare with maybe just a few knick-knacks on a shelf and a pitcher of water in a bowl on a side table for washing up in. A trunk in the corner and blankets neatly folded on the bed. I can be ruthless about throwing or giving away things around the house. Clothes that haven't been worn recently, toys that haven't been played with (or that are plastic, and use batteries :)), little bits of junk. I have one manila envelope filled with favorite drawings the kids have made, but I usually toss their projects, too, after a week or so. This is a horrible thing to admit, but I have even thought at times that it wouldn't be so bad if all our belongings burned in a fire. I mean, we would have no clutter! And I would buy everyone three nice sturdy outfits, and a stack of good books, and a cast iron skillet, and we would be fine!

Now, that is not to say that there aren't pockets of clutter in our big old house. We have a closet filled with things I don't know what to do with, and drawers in the kitchen that have all kinds of unidentifiable junk. And I am horrible at keeping dresser drawers tidy, so my clothes are in a wrinkled mess within my neatly shut drawers. (The same is true for the kitchen cabinets. Just can't keep them straightened!) Under the sinks isn't terribly organized, either. But -- I always have a plan for when I am going to declutter the next thing.

I was thinking about that today -- about my passion for simplicity and organization in my home. And it made me wonder if I have that same passion for decluttering the hidden messes of my heart. Or if maybe I should. Messes in my house are tangible - and I can be driven to eradicate them. But what pockets of hidden sin clutter are lurking in my heart? Am I driven to clear those? Do I deal with sin like I deal with clutter, or do I stuff it further into the "junk drawer?" There are so many areas where I know I need to allow the Lord to work in me. Kindness. Patience. Forebearance. Fearing Him, instead of fearing man. Loving. Not judging. Being centered on bringing Him glory instead of being self-centered in my motives. Being slow to anger - especially with my kids. And you know what? Especially when it comes to my kids' messes! :) Hungering for God's Word. Longing to share His Gospel with others (that is so hard for me!). Caring about people the way He does.

It was a good reminder to me today as I surveyed one physical pocket of clutter. Some "cleaning out" is more important than others.