Last week I decluttered my house when I donated ten bags of clothes and a bunch of miscellaneous household items to a local thrift store.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been trying to pare down my belongings for multiple reasons. First, I have unused items taking up space in my home that someone else could potentially use and enjoy. Second, I’ve\u00a0noticed that it\u2019s difficult for me to focus at home. I\u2019ve found myself writing, paying bills, doing my Bible study and other tasks in coffee shops simply to escape the clutter. Finally, I\u2019ve considered relocating closer to family. If I decide to take the leap, I want less stuff to pack and move across the state.<\/p>\n
Truth be told, I\u2019m no minimalist<\/a>. I don\u2019t plan to go \u201call-in\u201d with that aesthetic or lifestyle. I much prefer a cozy<\/a>, lived-in space full of the things I love: books, blankets, photos, my nephew\u2019s artwork and far too many coffee mugs for one individual. I\u2019m a highly sentimental ENFP (Myers-Briggs, anyone?), so it\u2019s also hard to part with gifts, souvenirs, keepsakes or items that are in any way meaningful.<\/p>\n Can anyone relate?<\/em><\/p>\n But I can no longer keep up with cleaning, maintaining and putting into proper places the belongings I\u2019ve accumulated in the nine and a half years I\u2019ve owned my townhouse. In fact, I realized while\u00a0decluttering that I\u2019d only ever added<\/em> stuff over the years; I’d rarely parted with anything.<\/p>\n In the quiet process of sorting and storing, tossing and transferring to Goodwill, I had time to think, daydream and pray about what I want my home to become in the future. The result was two\u00a0fairly general ideas that apply to any stage in life, whether living in an apartment, house or dorm room. I want to provide a peaceful environment for myself and the people I love, and a welcoming space for neighbors and newbies.<\/p>\n For a while, I hosted\u00a0my women\u2019s small group in my home until we outgrew the space and had to move it to our church. Hosting provided\u00a0built-in motivation to keep my house tidy, free from stacks of mail, books and laundry. It was fun to cook dinner for these women, see them perched\u00a0on my couches for our study time, and spend meaningful time together. We\u2019re still in relationship, but without them coming over on a consistent basis, I\u2019m essentially paying a mortgage to sleep, shower and do laundry. All the important stuff is happening external to my home. That doesn\u2019t feel right to me.<\/p>\n My desire is to be at<\/em> home in<\/em> my home. It ought to be a place I want <\/em>to be after work and on the weekends. I aim to open it up again to my friends and family \u2013 becoming a space to drop in, relax, rest and \u201cjust be.\u201d It\u2019s hard to rest in a space that, although generally clean, is stuffed with stuff.<\/p>\n So, I\u2019m reconsidering the purpose of the things I own: Do I use it on a regular basis? Does it add beauty? Is it contributing to a peaceful environment or does it add to the \u201cnoise\u201d? These questions help me make decisions on what to subtract.<\/p>\n Jesus says<\/a> \u201cCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.\u201d Our God wants to relieve \u201cweight\u201d from our shoulders, giving us soul rest in exchange. I\u2019m asking Him two things: to show me how to unburden myself from what\u2019s unnecessary (particularly in regard to possessions) and, as His witness, to extend His peace to friends and family who enter my home.<\/p>\n Aside from friends and family, there are people in my neighborhood whose faces I see on occasion, but whose names I don\u2019t know. You\u2019d think that since we\u2019re 40-units-worth of people packed into a small townhouse community, sharing lawn space, a driveway, and even walls, we\u2019d get to know each other. That\u2019s not the case. We aren\u2019t friendly\u00a0or, well, neighborly<\/em>, to one another.<\/p>\n Earlier this summer, I read “The Turquoise Table: Finding Community and Connection in Your Own Front Yard<\/a>”\u00a0by Kristin Schell. She uses Romans 12:1<\/a>3 as a catalyst for ministering from her home: \u201cTake every opportunity to open your life and home to others.\u201d I\u2019ve been thinking about that verse non-stop, and it\u2019s convicting. I\u2019ve made plenty of excuses for why I haven\u2019t opened my home to neighbors and the people I meet as I move about my day:<\/p>\n God is persistent. He has been stirring this message of neighboring in my heart for years. The\u00a0image of a table pops up often, from\u00a0Neighbors Table<\/a> (I dream of owning one someday!), to a YouTube video that brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it, to the declaration of John 1:14<\/a>. I love how The Message puts it: \u201cThe Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n I know what I want my home to become, and I\u2019m ready to make the necessary changes. I need to free myself from the burden of excessive stuff so that I can live with intention and be physically and mentally ready to respond when God opens my eyes to a need or an opportunity. It’s time to declutter, one bag at a time. I\u2019ve got to invite friends over, one invitation at a time. And I ought to think of ways to bless my neighbors and love them well, one idea at a time. Amid these steps of faith, I\u2019ll pray that God will use my efforts and do something more than I can ask or even imagine.<\/p>\n Do you get overwhelmed by your stuff? What do you want your house to become? How is God using you to minister in your home or neighborhood?<\/em><\/p>\n Copyright 2017 Lindsay Blackburn. All rights reserved.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I know what I want my home to become, and I\u2019m ready to make the necessary changes \u2014 even if that means decluttering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":39849,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13593","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-with-others"],"yoast_head":"\nA peaceful place for friends and family<\/h4>\n
A welcoming space to gather neighbors<\/h4>\n
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