I have been feeling like my spiritual walk has been more of a spiritual flounder lately. I am plugged in at church and plugged into a bible study with friends. Taking quiet time (as quiet as it gets with two small children, somedays three, running about the house) daily and enjoying worship both in and out of church. Just like any good thing sometimes our spiritual lives can become chaotic and cluttered, and honestly it happens even when we are being intentional. All it takes is having just a little bit extra in the mix of things we are doing and we find ourselves in the middle of chaos.

Just like we need to clear our kitchen tables and counters of the clutter that builds up, we need to purpose to do the same with our spiritual lives. Instead of looking at clutter as a mess and a problem, what if we looked at it as a sign of a life well lived? What if we embraced the clutter and accepted it for what it is: a sign of needing to pause and clear the table a bit. Rather than beating ourselves up for having too many things on our plate, let’s just lovingly take a moment to sort through what is in the pile of stuff and take out what doesn’t need to be there.

For me the spiritual clutter began to build up over the last few months. I find times of transition is when clutter can build the fastest. I am in transition from my old church to my new church and in that comes some loose ends to tie up, and some new beginnings that also put a little more on the plate. I am also in transition in a few other areas in my life (hello holidays!) as well so more than one thing is changing in life right now. Change can be good, and it can also be the welcome mat for chaos if we are not careful.

Especially around the holidays I feel the chaos of clutter building up as we all prepare our homes and hearts for the season of thanksgiving and the season of giving one right after the other. In order to be effective and not become overwhelmed by the chaos we need to clear out the clutter as we go along.

Some ways to assess the clutter in our lives:

-Does it need to happen now or can it wait?

-Is this something that I can realistically complete right now (and complete it well).

I hesitate to beat the drum of “just say no” or a take a “season of no” because really we are called to say yes to what God is calling us to do and often times that means we live in a place that requires us to be diligent, and careful with our time. It doesn’t mean we say no to everything outside of our comfort zone or no to anything that might take more of our time. It means that we need to assess how we are using our time. If we are saying no to things of God solely because they take up time we need to reassess our schedule and consider what is the priority.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” -John 14:27

Finally, Jesus gives us peace, not chaos. If we are seeking Him we will be walking in peace through this new year. May we all be running after Him together in 2018!

Father, You are sovereign. You know what is on our plates both spiritually and physically and we thank you for each task that is from you! Give us the wisdom to keep our lives balanced and filled with your work. Help guide us to remove anything that is not your will. Keep our minds set on you and your promises as we work diligently this new year to follow you! In Jesus name, Amen.