Like I have said before; once the air becomes warmer and the days are longer we find ourselves ready to dig in and began some Spring cleaning projects. Just yesterday I began assisting a friend with some of her tasks.
First up was her daughters closet. They diligently began the process by dumping the contents out of the closet into the room before I arrived. This is the perfect way to begin, but it can be quite overwhelming. Heaping piles surrounding you can make you feel as if you will: 1) never get done, 2) never fit it all back in and 3) it is going to take forever!
Yet, we: 1) got it done! 2) fit it and more back in and 3) were done much quicker than we ever imagined.
How? One teeny-tiny-itty-bitty-step at a time.
You must proceed to tackle one thing at a time. First up was the tangled jewelry. One of us sat on the floor and untangled and sorted through the jumble of jewelry. Then we created a functional yet beautiful display on a closet shelf we had set aside. Done.
Next up was the pilfering through and sorting of clothes. What to keep, give away and put aside for an upcoming yard sale. (the yard sale and give away items are things that you just keep on hanging on to, might wear that one day, it might come back in style, you know....) After nicely hanging the clothes being kept (in color and type sections of course!), creating a hefty pile for the yard sale and removing a ka-jillion extra hangers, Done!
This process continued through shoes, hats, scarves, gloves, boots, books, CD's; all the typical things you find in ones closet. We employed the use of baskets to keep things confined and organized. The oodles of flip flops lined upright in a basket taking up much less space than being spread out, and they are easy to sort through to find.
Here's the point I want to make: As much as I think you will definitely benefit from these helpful tips for cleaning out your closet, I want you to begin to think of these same steps in terms of cleaning out your heart and life.
Those things that have been piling up, making it impossible to walk through the "closet" without tripping need to be pulled out. All the "junk" that keeps getting shoved here and there til you are ready to deal with, needs to be dealt with. It does not magically disappear or get put where it belongs.
It will just keep building up and creating a mess of things. Stuff like anger, resentment, unforgiveness, haunting memories of your past, things that were done to you or those terrible decisions you once made. Those words that keep ringing in your ears telling you the opposite of what God is telling you. All of this junk is cluttering up your heart in a big way.
We have to tackle it just how we tackled that messy closet; one itty-bitty-teeny-tiny step at a time.
One "thing" at a time.
Do you feel like there are just so many things overwhelming you, your life, your heart? As if you just do not know where to start because it is all just too much? Do you look at the mess that represents your life and feel so overwhelmed by it that you prefer just shoving it all back into the "closet" and moving on like it wasn't really there?
That continual shoving and pushing down only creates a bigger mess, one that becomes more difficult to manage.
I want to encourage you to begin pulling it all out...laying it all out there. Then; one thing at a time, one pile at a time, you can begin dealing with these issues.
Taking itty-bitty-teeny-tiny steps out of the mess and into the fullness of a life of freedom.
Let's talk more about handling all these "piles" next time.
Til then, begin pondering all the stuff that has been filling up your heart and life that needs to go.
Much love
XO
Sherry
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