12.02.08
Cleaning out the junk …
This time of year always encourages us to look within ourselves, to dig a little deeper, to sift thru all of the clutter in our lives in order to discover the buried treasures of thankfulness. No matter what we may be facing in our lives, there ARE treasures of thankfulness. We just need to take the time to unclutter our lives and look for them instead of shoving them into a drawer with all of the other junk. Let me explain what I mean.
Most of us have the infamous “junk drawer” in our homes. You know the drawer – the drawer that starts out with a few things and before we know it, everything that we don’t have time to deal with ends up in there. Well, if we aren’t careful, our lives can end up looking like that junk drawer. It is our natural tendency to run busily thru life shoving things to the side with the intention of dealing with them “some day”. But the reality is that despite our best intentions, we don’t! And the busier we become, the MORE stuff we shove aside. There is real danger in this for a few reasons:
1. MISPLACED – It becomes a habit so without even thinking about it, we start shoving things into the drawer that should NOT end up in a “junk” drawer!
2. ISOLATED – It goes undisturbed, so we forget about all of the things in that drawer and that includes the good things!
3. LOST – We don’t start digging thru the junk until we have a really good reason to do so and most often it is because we’re trying to find something.
Where does that leave us? In a flustered state, that’s where! But there is a special gift in that frenzy because when we face something in life causing us to feel a little frantic or desperate that is when we begin searching for something bigger. We pray “Please God help me. I PROMISE I will clean out this junk and do better next time!” Wow, if God only had a penny for every promise each of us has made to him – there would be an end to world hunger!
That frenzy state pushes us to do some soul searching, to step back from the busyness and evaluate what is really important in our lives. I mean where exactly are our priorities? Do we cherish the treasures that God has given us? Do we sprint thru life shoving everything to the side not truly appreciating what we do have? Do we have a hard time seeing past all of the junk in our lives preventing us from seeing all of the good?
Today I understand what a gift that state of frenzy is to each of us and exactly how much those tough times taught me.
It taught me that the most important gift you could give someone is not anything you can buy.
It taught me to appreciate the things in my life no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to others.
It taught me to be thankful for everything – even the challenges.
It taught me that good health is a gift.
It taught me not to take anything for granted especially LIFE.
It taught me how to love with my whole heart, even when it hurts.
It taught me to cherish the time with those I care about the most.
It taught me that there is more in this world than just me and my family and I need to be doing more. Watch this Advent Conspiracy and you’ll know what I mean. It really makes you think!
It taught me that when the world falls apart, there is only one thing I can cling to and that is our awesome God. He is THE answer to all of life’s problems.
Life truly is a precious gift so we need to embrace every second and be thankful for all that we DO have in our lives and quit focusing on what we do NOT have. It is NOT easy especially when we are surrounded with adversity or pain. When we seek God and trust His plan He will not forsake us. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
Tears fill my eyes and my heart overflows with thankfulness for all of the treasures He has given me. Treasures I never again want to shove into a drawer or easily lose track of because of the busyness in life. How about you – is it time for you to clean out your junk drawer?
God bless you!!!
Love,
Sandi
Natalija said,
December 3, 2008 at 12:34 pm
WOW! Talk about taking trash and changing it to treasure! Thank you for the inspiring words & insights. (I can’t help but think that this posting was “inspired” by our session the other week.)
Love,Natalija
Phil said,
December 11, 2008 at 12:10 pm
A neighbor of my works at the local grocery store we frequent and I always make it a point to say hello when I see him. During the brief exchange of formalities I always ask the obvious “How you doing?” to which he replies every time “Just fine my friend… Every day above ground is a good day” My response is to always laugh first and follow up with a hearty “Amen to that neighbor” Simple and to the point always makes me think how Blessed I am to exchange the moment…
Be Blessed this Christmas
Phil