A few weeks ago, I looked around my house and felt weighed down. I saw the seemingly endless piles of papers that needed a permanent place to live, as well as confusion personified in every closet and drawer. My house didn’t look dirty, but all the chaos underneath began to feel very heavy and unnerving. As I was contemplating what must be done, I remembered, in a flash, a statement a friend made years ago, “My house might be messy from time to time, but my drawers and closets are always in order.” That thought cinched my resolve. I was going to clean out any nook, cranny or drawer that needed to be de-cluttered or cleaned
Plan of attack
I began the plan of attack. I made sense out of mountains of banking, insurance, and other work related papers that needed to go in our business files. I also went through my personal files (hundreds of them); all my projects and accumulations over the last 30 years. There was an onslaught, and trash bags were filling up fast. That battle took at least 5 full days. From here, I spring-boarded into every drawer and closet in my house. My motto was, “When in doubt, throw it out!” Oh it felt good! So much junk!
Illuminating phenomenon
Three or four days into the mucky, focused project, I became increasingly aware of an interesting and illuminating phenomenon building in my spirit. I was not only cleaning my surroundings, but I felt that I was correspondingly cleaning my soul. I began to feel lighter. My mind began to feel a clarity that I rarely have felt. This gaze into inspiration, made me all the more resolved to complete the task.
Several times, I would pronounce a room “clean,” but hours later, previously un-contemplated places became “highlighted,” and I realized that I needed to do more. I felt compelled to clean out and dust all my bookshelves, the top cabinets that no one ever looks in, and even behind the fridge. Was I becoming obsessive?
Stillness seeping in
As I lay in bed at the close of each day, pleased with my efforts, I felt a perfect stillness seep in, and I would consecrate that day’s gain to the Lord. I asked Him to clean MY house; MY temple. I wanted to let go of anything that wasn’t needed so that I could “hear” Him better than before. Twelve days of intense focus on this project helped me realize how closely our physical and emotional/spiritual environments are linked. As my physical environment freed up, my quieted mind and heart soared with a new buoyancy of spirit.
Tsunami of emotion
One memorable night I couldn’t sleep. I thought about the transformation of the spaces in my home. Everything was in order. My thoughts unexpectedly veered to my childhood. A series of events came flooding into my mind; scenes of my youth where I had experienced emotional pain. I “saw” it flow in a stream of consciousness. A tsunami of emotion with each scene swept over, through me, and out. The faces of those I needed to forgive, materialized before me, and I was amazed that I had held onto such trivial things. I sobbed and sobbed, releasing many years of “holding on.” I observed how this unconscious clenching onto the stored up pain of my past, and my apparent lack of forgiveness, was the root cause of a challenge I had been experiencing in my present life. Now it all felt so removed from me, and the negativity was released. My “closet” was clean!
Paradigm shift- Why?
By about 4:00 a.m. I finished the soul processing. I lay there pondering on this paradigm shift that was offered to me, and why. As I was mentally questioning, I had the thought come to me, “You prayed for me to help you clean your house!” This special night, was a revelation to me. Years of emotional baggage can be forever discarded in a very short time, with the Lord’s help.
Throw down the gauntlet
I want to throw down the gauntlet to anyone wanting to clean and clear their lives. Start cleaning and de-cluttering your physical environment and then begin to feel your inner workings change. Pray for spiritual and emotional cleansing. The Lord is SO ready to free us. Observe without judgment any “scenes” that may come into your mind. Allow negative emotion to come in, go through you, and flow out. Once the emotion has been fully experienced, it has no more value, and should be “let go.” The more unencumbered we are, the more He can work through us. The world out there might be disordered and chaotic, but we can have absolute peace in our inner world. Spring-clean your soul, shift your paradigm and feel like a new you!
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