Out With The Old

Is it just me?

I love to rearrange my furniture.

Every few months or so, I get an itch to switch things up to make the old feel new.

While moving things around, I love a good declutter to clear the space (spoken with all the zeal of a patronizing designer) to feel more free and productive.

Years ago, a friend of mine was starting a business where she would come into your home and take all the things you already have and rearrange them in a way that felt fresh and new.

It was a marvelous, inexpensive way to redo your home, so I was excited to be one of her first clients.

The first step in her process was to remove all the decor, put it in the basement, and display it like you would at a rummage sale.

Everything would need to come down—the stuff on the wall, the knickknacks, the 375 pillows—all of it.

I realized something as I perused my collection of chipped figurines, candles purchased from home parties, and various pieces of artwork that shared recipes for love from our wedding 20 years ago that now lay on the basement floor, exposed in their out-of-style "elegance."

I was surrounding myself with stuff I didn't even like anymore.

If I had seen all those things in a store at that moment, I wouldn't have purchased 75% of it.

Taking everything down and seeing things that way gave me a whole new perspective.

It was time to purge the junk that no longer served me.

I got rid of so much stuff that day. It was glorious.

I felt joyous relief as I dropped off a car full of goodies at the local donation center, knowing another would enjoy these treasures.

With a trimmed-down collection, I could now display only what I loved. I had so much fun moving everything around and showcasing the beautiful pieces I cherished.

You see where I'm going with this.

Perhaps we should rearrange and declutter our lives in the same way that we do in our homes.

It just so happens I know of a great interior designer who specializes in this very thing.

You guessed it - God.

He is an expert at this kind of stuff!

God can help us stop and take inventory of everything in our lives so we can get rid of the junk we don't need or want anymore.

Getting rid of the old, which takes up valuable space, allows us to prioritize and focus on the gifts God gave us that we truly love and treasure.

It's time to let those gifts have a prominent spot in your life and say goodbye to things you no longer want or need.

Happy purging, my friend!

Ephesians 4: 20-24

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Isaiah 43: 18-19

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Luke 9:62

Jesus said, "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day."