All Junked-Up

The other evening on a run, I turned onto my street to finish up my last mile. As the sun set, lawns were being mowed, children were at play, cars backed out, and people walked their dogs. It was quite lovely. A sort of picturesque view of life in suburbia, however something caught my eye as I passed house after house. With garage's wide open I found myself fascinated by the amount of stuff that filled so many of them. It was no wonder the street was lined with parked cars; they can't fit them in the garage. 

[Please note: This is not my garage!!]

I have no room to talk--my garage can't fit a car either. Though, I think we have somewhat of an excuse at our house, since four different girls live here. Our garage is filled with various furniture, household items, and the like. Still, excuses aside, I own a lot of stuff. 

As I nosily peered into the exposed garage’s, it seemed like a competition--who can collect the most stuff and make it look extremely organized/pack it in best? But why do we do that? Why do we collect things only to have them sit? Why is there this intrinsic need to keep stuff? As if the five (or more in most cases) closets, 14 kitchen cabinets, pantry, various drawers, end tables, and ottomans don’t have enough storage space, we fill the garage so much so that we can't even pull the car in. Even worse than that, some of you pay to have a storage space that holds even more stuff. What's up with the possessions? We own stuff that goes unused, dusty, waiting for that moment when it's need becomes apparent, which commences the search for that old thingy-ma-bobber. 

I think initially my annoyance with the collection of stuff came when I moved out of my house before leaving for Poland. I got rid of so much junk I never used or hadn't worn in years... or so I thought. Until, that is, I moved into an eight by ten room. (Did I mention I had the master with my own bathroom in my old house?) Since moving here, I have donated four bags of clothes, two boxes of random unnecessary items, and sold a bags-worth of clothes/shoes to Plato's Closet. And I STILL have things in the garage. 

Let’s face it, we live clutter filled, over-junked lives. Our society is obsessed with stuff. I mean how many of us have drawers with old phones, cameras, charger cords, and music players that we don’t use. In reality, this has to affect the way we are wired. I wonder about this drive, the mentality of always wanting more, collecting things 'just in case' or because ‘I'll use it someday’.

I guess what I'm getting at is, I wonder how God feels about all of it. If that's how we are about material things I can't help but feel like my heart must look something like my neighbor’s garage, all cluttered with stuff. Junked up with distractions for when I'm bored, things I think I might someday need, old memories I can't seem to get rid of, and the just-in-case crap.

The truth is it does effect my mind and my heart. I'm not sure there's a difference. I'm constantly yearning for something more, so I pile on more of what I don't need but think that I want. I keep old memories that possess this sort of grandeur 'way it use to be' value and I just can't give them up. I retain my former ways, old mentalities, and coping mechanism because well, frankly I don’t have the faith to believe that God can get me through the hard things. It’s almost impossible to let go of the desire to want more but I’m not sure I want to believe that He is the latest and greatest version of all that I need. So I store the other stuff just in case He fails to produce the patience, strength, or provision. 

I let the junk build when I live in denial or I let things claim value that don’t belong. When I cling to grudges, memories, or try to understand the past. When I resort back to ways I once considered fun but only brought me emptiness. When I give up on the dreams and joys of trusting Him to look for joy or hope in the materialistic and fleeting. All of it is like filling a glass that has a hole in the bottom; the cup will drain out and I will continue to be thirsty. My heart, my mind, my soul--I give up my life to "the stuff" when I don't allow God be the source of my happiness.

Yet even in my garage of crap, I know He loves me. I also know God is willing to help clean it out. If that's not amazing in and of itself, I don't know what is. I'm certainly not knocking on doors offering to help people with their mess. That's the beauty of really knowing Jesus though. He is so grace-filled that even when the garage door creeks and rumbles as it rises to reveal all that dusty junk, he doesn’t give up on me. Or when he peers into my closet filled with things I don't need but claim as valuable, he's patient. He's willing to go through it all with me. Whether it's an old unopened box of hurt or the unworn dress that I thought would make me feel beautiful. He takes the time to gain my trust and prove all that stuff can't account for what I gain in knowing and living for Him. If I let go of whatever I believe will come from storing up those things and instead fill my life with His love, the chase to fill the void ends and true fulfillment begins. 

The problem with stuff is once it begin to accumulate, it gets even more difficult to take care of. "I just don't know where to start", is a phrase most of us are familiar with. I'm realizing how quickly and easily I can junk up my life. I don't put it off anymore. I don't let it fill up my closets, cabinets and spew out into my garage. It isn't easy though. It's a daily process for me. I have to clean out something new every single day… but it isn't so bad with the help of a very good cleaner.

What's in your garage? 

What's God calling you to let go of? 

To give up? To clean out?