When 2022 rolled around I wanted change in my life.
The years 2020 and 2021 had taken their toll. I felt burned out, my muse struggled, and my words wouldn’t come. My blog suffered for lack of content, but my mind had literally come to a standstill. Nothing found inspiration, my writing dead in the water.
But with January 2022 my energy swelled. Blog ideas again kept me awake at night. Topics that needed airing competed with my desire for sleep. I thought, as I lay paragraphing in the dark, couldn’t my mind at least work like this in daylight?
I decided to do a clean sweep in all areas of my life.
I love a tidy closet. I do. But I hate cleaning them. As I lay there in bed working over themes, I thought of that closet that I’d always neglected.
You know the one. You probably have one, too.
It’s deep in the house, away from prying eyes, a place where I can stick stuff I don’t want to deal with and close the door. Except now that closed door haunted me.
I decided to take a look.
What a nightmare! My daughter’s art business inventory filled half of the shelves. Documents from my son’s college days hovered at the back of a top shelf. My writing business added to the pile. Not to mention discarded, worn out clothing on hangers for which I had no idea why I’d saved them.
I dedicated Friday mornings to that closet. Friday is the one day in my schedule that has no set routine. I worked on one segment at a time.
*Discarded all the old college files after letting my son choose what he needed. Basically nothing was.
*I rearranged my daughter’s business inventory, doing some much needed consolidation.
*The clothing went to charity.
At the end of three Friday mornings, I actually saw the beautiful maple floor.
Who knew such beauty existed in a closet?
The project recharged me. The closet shone, and the room where it stood benefited as well. Everything was in order.
In our Christian walk, we are exhorted to examine our selves to see if we are in the faith. (II Corinthians 13:5-10). Like that forgotten closet, a clean sweep of our souls may be in order.
In Psalm 139 David exclaims, “ Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (vv. 17, 23–24)
Powerful words.
How much better for us if our spirit has been cleansed, the floor of our heart swept, and the shelves in our lives made neat and tidy?
Renewal has begun.
Happy 2022.
Love this! Good word, Pat. And those things you donated to charity will be put to good use 😊
And a clean closet is a good feeling as well.