I haven’t written anything in a couple weeks. There’s lots of reasons for this – the heat, my schedule, plain laziness – but mainly it’s because we’ve just been super busy. Between going to visit our kids, gardening, remodeling the house, and a hundred other things, life’s been a little crazy.
One of the things that’s added to the busyness is we’ve finally gotten serious about dejunking our home. Over 38 years of marriage we’ve collected an awful lot of stuff, most of which we probably don’t need. We’ve still got unopened boxes from our move to Washington State in 2001! We just keep throwing them in the truck and taking them to the next place. Well, that’s all starting to change.
We’ve spent our free time in the last week going through some of those boxes. We’ve laughed when I pulled out a pair of slacks and discovered that, for some strange reason, I couldn’t button them up anymore. We’ve remembered good times when the kids were little as we went through a box of baby clothes. And we felt nostalgic when we discovered pictures of friends we haven’t seen in years (miss you guys!).
For the most part, however, most of the stuff we’ve found we don’t need or want anymore. It’s just been taking up space and wasting our time moving it around. These things we’re hauling to a friend’s yard sale, so some other poor soul can stack them in their attic or garage for awhile.
Just like occasionally cleaning out the attics and closets of our homes is a good idea, cleaning up the garbage cluttering our souls regularly is also essential. Those hurt feelings, cherished resentments, guilty pleasures, and harmful habits take up precious space in our minds, waste our time and hold us back from the abundant life Jesus wants for us (see John 10:10).
In Hebrews 12:1 Paul calls on us to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up”, so we can “run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
If we keep all this junk we’ve accumulated in our house, our next move will be more difficult and expensive than it needs to be. In the same way, if you hold on to the past, to your old habits, hurt feelings, and cherished sins, moving to your heavenly home will be impossible.
So, what weight is slowing you down? What sin is tripping you up? What old hurt is holding you back? It’s time to let it go. Just give it to Jesus. 1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
These things are just holding you back, weighing you down. Let them go! Give them to Jesus and let Him show you the way to a better (and lighter) tomorrow!