What Do You Need to Sort Through?

With the crisp fall air, I get into cleaning mode! I guess the air is refreshing and it naturally gives you a boost of energy...if I had a Plymouth of money, I would be tempted to shop but since the house we live in didn't come with the trees that money grows off of, my energy will have to go elsewhere..so, I started with my camera.
Do you have a memory card in your camera, 64MB or maybe a 8G card? I started with the 64MB, thankful that I was able to snap away 76 times before I had to download the memories into the computer. But then I wanted more!!! So, I bought a 2G memory card so that I didn't have to download as often and I could snap away almost carelessly, knowing that one day I would download them, I could delete whatever was bad and keep the rest. Sounds good in theory but I tell ya, the work involved sorting through all of the pics was a lot! It took a lot of time to pick and choose which one was ultimately better than the other, plus, I then had to remember where the picture was taken to place it in it's appropriate folder. I thought, "You know, it was easier when I had to download frequently and the pictures were more concentrated in application."
Same goes with our closets...we continue to throw stuff in them with the intentions of one day cleaning them out. Only to one day face the pile of mismatched games, toys, clothing, shoes, crafts which takes such a full day, maybe a whole weekend to sort through. Again, like the camera, it would have been easier to address the smaller things before they piled up to a big ole pile of sorting through. That is so stressful and yet we made that choice.
What in your life needs to be sorted through? I am sure you can easily name several areas around the house that could use a good reorganization: garage, closets, toy buckets, shoes buckets, kitchen drawers, craft containers, the "to be filed" stack, maybe even your camera!
But what about beyond that? What in your life needs to be sorted through? Have you been slowly, carelessly stashing things into your heart and your mind, even your day? Is your spirit bogged down with depression, anxiety and stress that it has become a "one day I'll get to it" project? Are you over-scheduling yourself and your family that you feel like you have lost control and order? Are you storing up thoughts, hurts, pains which soon become mismatched chaos and the thought of sorting through it all is overwhelming?
I don't know if you have this problem in your house, but I find little creatures seem to enjoy these dark, low traffic, warm places, eating through fabric and papers. However, if things are kept in order and are protected, you are lessening your chance to get destroying little bugs. In our life, stored up stuff brings "bugs" of many sorts. Stress, depression, spiritual warfare to name a few. Satan would love nothing more than to overwhelm us with our "stuff" to keep us from addressing it and handing it over to the Lord. We may not always be intentionally stockpiling our stuff, it may be that we have developed some unhealthy habits and routines which have become a way of life for us.
Let me encourage you to take a deep breathe of the crisp fall air and get to cleaning! Sure, you could wait another season to work through the clutter, but the "things" continue to pile in thus making more work for another time. We all have closets in our lives. Wouldn't it be nice if we could bring some order to them finally? Old stuff should be confessed and handed over to a loving God who brings forgiveness. They no longer have a hold of us. "Bugs" will evacuate since they do not have anymore junk to feast on. New stuff should be dealt with immediately with grace, truthfulness and love. Don't just empty your "stuff" only to move it around, maybe sweep it under the nearest rug. Take time to find it's proper place. For me, I sometimes feel so overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning, it seems easier to simply take inventory, then put it under a little rug somewhere to deal with another time. Well, you can imagine what is next...that rug gets pretty bumpy. It no longer functions correctly and it is certainly uncomfortable to enjoy.
As long as we are living and breathing, we will continue to accumulate stuff in our lives. Friend, I would like to encourage you, challenge you to sort through your stuff frequently. Do not expand your memory size or move into a bigger closet. Take the time and throw out what doesn't need to be there, delete the unnecessary things. Hand them over to a loving and forgiving God. He separates our sins as far as the East is from the West. He is the God of order, not chaos. He is a Healing God.
You know, just because it is your closet, doesn't mean you cannot have a friend help you. Sure, it will more than likely be embarrassing but you know what...your friend has a closet too and he/she may just ask you to help clean out theirs one day. Do not let pride keep you from asking for a extra set of hands in your life, physically, spiritually and emotionally. That's what friends are for...to love on one another, to encourage one another and hold one another accountable in love. A friend, a godly friend, digs deep into the corners with you, and helps you clear the clutter! Are they an expert in cleaning, sweeping, sorting and bagging? Probably not, but their heart, their commitment to loving you unconditionally, reflecting God's unconditional love is enough to clean out the largest of closets. Not every friend will be that kind of friend, for friends are gifts to share life with. But there are those precious few that God delivers to the doorstep of your heart and soul that will bring a broom and trash bag if asked! Praise God for those special friends in our lives. "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12
Sometimes it may even be necessary to call a Professional Organizer: a.k.a. a Counselor. And that is OKAY! Sometimes when we finally make the commitment to clean our overcrowded closet, it can be overwhelming and you just don't know where to even begin. That's what they are trained for, to start you and pace you through, one step at a time. Once you have regained order, won't you commit to never go back. The old stuff is gone and it no longer has a hold over you...it does not define you. You are no longer in bondage to the junk, you are free indeed!
Each day, take whatever comes in, whether pain, hurt, anger, busyness and put it into the proper place...present it to God, handing it completely over to Him, asking for His hand of guidance and direction. He is faithful. "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:8-9

"For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel."
Colossians 1:13-23