Things to Leave Behind

The Lovely Joanne and I have moved from our comfortable house to an apartment for a
couple of months. Besides getting utilities set up, signing multiple forms and all that, the worst of it was that we had to take everything out of our house: all the furniture, all the knickknacks, all the dishes and our clothes, everything on all the shelves and all over the floor and in the closets and the garage. In the summer heat. And then carry much of it up two flights of stairs. Between the weight of the stuff, the sheer volume, and the 90-degree weather, we’ve decided we own entirely too much stuff.

Some of our stuff, we had kept because we might need an extra, some of it because of who gave it to us, and some of it because we hadn’t bothered to throw it out. So, we've asked God for a fresh look, and as we open boxes and look at the closets and shelves, we've been recognizing many, many things we are better off without.

Of course, there’s a spiritual connection. You and I still have many old habits and ideas, some of which are harmful. In her "Spiritual Disciplines Handbook" Adele Ahlberg Calhoun says about repentance on page 92, "We can put a very great deal of energy into maintaining the image that we are good moral people...repentance means we open the bad in our lives to God. We invite him to come right in and look at our sin with us." Our loving Father is always willing to help us recognize what we should discard from our lives.

For instance, I might waste time worrying about how somebody else is acting or what might happen next month. Someone else might still be using anger, either as a reaction to fear, or as a means of controlling someone else. As we are more aware of the Holy Spirit's presence in us, we remember that God loves us and is providing for you and me, and the Holy Spirit will lead us to recognize and turn away from anger and worry as the harmful things they are. 

This might be a good time to take an hour or two for some real self-examination and personal repentance, to recognize and throw out some of the "stuff" in our lives that we really don't need anymore. Perhaps your spouse or a trusted prayer partner can be of help by praying with you for clarity. As you do, remember that no matter what you find, you are still, always and forever, absolutely loved by God, and that he won't reject you because of what you've found (which he already knew was there!). Instead, he will continue to lead you into a more intimate walk with him as you throw away the "stuff" you don't need anyway.