For the past several weeks I have been on a mission to de-clutter my house. I knew this would be a huge project and since I don't have the luxury of having a week of time to set aside to complete my goals, I decided to take it in baby steps. I started in my closet. I moved on to my bathroom. When I finished I found it simply delightful to go into my bathroom. It was clean and simple in there. I had gotten rid of so much and put everything in its place. It made me feel good. My bedroom caused me to take even tinier steps. I chose under the bed for the first phase. Then I did my nightstand. I worked my way to the armoire. And then my bookcase. I finally finished my bedroom. I am moving on to the laundry room.
I have been simply amazed at the amount of stuff I have collected. Stuff that serves no purpose. Stuff that doesn't do anything at all to help me. Stuff that, in fact, burdens me and causes me work because it needs to be cleaned and dusted and taken care of. So I'm getting rid of it.
This weekend at church we had what is called a Lay-Witness event. It was our third time of doing this in the past 6 years. When people hear about it they always ask me, "What is lay-witness"? I've never had a good answer because it's really hard to explain. I now realize the best answer is "It's a time to de-clutter your heart."
Basically the premise of lay-witness is so simple. There is no production. There is no practice involved. There is no money involved because it doesn't cost anything at all. All it requires is your willingness to attend. It is simply a time of examining your heart and allowing God to de-clutter your life. And amazing things happen when we allow God to work in our hearts. There were people who found tremendous healing in relationships. Forgiveness was extended and accepted. Marraiges were renewed. New and deeper spiritual commitments were made. The importance of a daily quiet time with God was emphasized and many, many people resoved to do a better job at meeting with God every single day.
God worked in my heart once I finally allowed Him to. I was amazed at the stuff He found in there. Stuff that hasn't helped me at all. Stuff that has burdened me and caused me much stress. I am choosing to get rid of it. And it already feels so much better.
So. Much. Better.
7 comments:
I think as a POM you like me, are even more aware of the meaningless "junk" in our homes and lives...
My daughter is enjoying the liberation of getting rid of a lot of stuff.Really pretty much all of her stuff.
I loved this!
That is awesome! I love it. I need to get busy decluttering more places in my house and in my life.
I loved this. I am i the same place as you in both the housekeeping and spiritual areas of my life right now. Thanks for posting.
I have a friend who has taken the work PURGE as her Word of the Year. Much like your lay-witness, she is purging her heart as well as her closets.
My word, SIMPLICITY, has somewhat of the same idea I think. De-cluttering is such a practical way to refocus our priorities, whether it is our hearts (most important) or our kitchen cabinets (most practical perhaps)
Thanks for this good reminder. And good luck with that de-cluttering in the house.
Love your down-to-earth, honest blogs, especially this one. It reminds me of the parables Jesus told - using practical, everyday situations to teach powerful lessons. The older I get the more I realize the need for decluttering my life and my heart.
This was a great post! I've never heard of the lay-witness program before, but anything which brings us closer to God, and more fit to be used to further His kingdom, sounds like a worthy event.
I've been decluttering my home recently, too. I could identify with what you said about how you enjoy your bathroom now, since it's clean and decluttered. I'm finding the same to be true (though not of my bathroom, haven't made it there yet!). I'm beginning to enjoy my home more than I have in a long while. I am determined to never again let it get out of hand, and prevent me from enjoying it!
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