Welcome! I took down my Christmas tree on January 4, and have been doing some redecorating. I’m not buying anything, mind you; just reorganizing and moving things around. It’s amazing how refreshing it is to free up space and clear out junk.
Since it’s a new year, lots of people set goals. They think about how to improve themselves, what they want to see change this year, what they hope to achieve, and such. These goals sound purposeful and will probably help, if you’re able to discipline yourself to achieve your goals.
But maybe eliminating the junk in your life is a better goal.
You can take this literally by sorting through paperwork, closets, drawers, your car…whatever looks cluttered. It’s sort of like a junk diet. It’s a good feeling to purge all that stored garbage. And most of it belongs in your toter. I can’t believe some of the things I’ve saved over the years. It’s so easy to get sentimental about things; about stuff. An example? How about school handbooks I’ve saved since 2016? Or sticky notes my daughter scattered all over the room as a toddler? I actually collected and stapled them together so I could reuse them. Ahem. The operative word here is sticky note. If the glue’s dry, they’re no good.
I think my favorite thing I saved was Tinkerbell playing cards. They were half the size of normal playing cards. My daughter’s a teenager. She’s way past Tinkerbell. And we don’t play cards much. Especially cards designed for toddler-sized hands. Sigh.
What junk are you storing in your life? I don’t mean only in your junk drawer or closet. How about in your heart and mind? Is there someone you need to forgive? A regret you need to let go? These aren’t easy for all of us to achieve. It’s simple to look at someone else’s problems or worries and offer logical conclusions. But logic doesn’t apply where emotions are concerned. As a highly sensitive person, I can assure you this is true for me.
But I will say that once God helps us forgive people who’ve broken our spirits and helps us forgive ourselves for our own mistakes, life seems fresh again. Just as my bay window looks better now that the pile of junk mail is gone, my life feels fresher now that I’ve forgiven someone who hurt me profoundly. I didn’t do this on my own. It took three years and only God knows how many prayers. But God is faithful, and he helped me free myself of this regret by forgiving this person.
Whatever junk you’re unable to purge, ask God to help you get rid of it this year. Make 2020 your fresh start. Blessings!