'Cause Packing Up is Hard to Do

Overwhelmed with cardboard boxes, u-haul reservations and the growing realization that I had accumulated way too much “stuff” over the past few years, I over-dramatically threw myself to the floor wishing I could bewitch it all away with the twitch of my nose! I've never claimed to be an organized person (umm...except maybe on my resume) but I was clearly in over my head. At that point, I couldn’t even force myself to look under my bed…or in my storage closet…afraid of what I might find! While laying there wallowing in my self-induced misery, a vivid memory from my childhood came rushing back with a derisive finger to say “I told you so!”

I remember it clear as day. I was 6 years old and my parents were away enjoying a “much-needed” vacation…without us! **Gasp** Well, as was usually the case, Grandma (or Grams as I affectionately call her) was drafted to be monster-sitter for the week. I was elated that she was staying with us because she is so much fun to have around and I could get away with anything…or so I thought! Well each day, we were required to complete our chores and ensure our rooms were nice and tidy before she would let us out to play. Conveniently for me, my chest of drawers was positioned diagonally in the corner of the room behind which there was plenty of space to quickly “store” my things. By the end of the week, Grams had caught on to my trickery, commenting on what a speedy cleaner I was! Following a quick rendez-vous with my faithful friend, the wooden spoon, I was forced to return to my room to sort through the mess that had been secretly mounting because I failed to do it right the first time.

Over twenty years have passed and apparently I hadn’t learned to shake the habit! Whether I was holding onto items because they held value to me or simply no longer had a use for something, the easiest thing to do was to “store” it by shoving it under my bed or tossing it into the storage closet. After all, I was just trying to create more space for myself! This method appeared to work well…until the day came when it was time to move and pack up all my things. Laying there in the middle of the floor, I knew what I had to do. It was time to roll up my sleeves and begin the tedious process of sorting through my belongings to properly store the meaningful items and discard those that were only taking up space. As I began to filter through my possessions, I was amazed by some of the clutter I was holding onto that I didn’t even realize! I even found a rock. A ROCK! I had to scratch my head and say “really Kelsey?” I mean, if I was going to save a rock, I should have at least put a label on it to remind me why it was apparently important enough to save because that thing was just weighing the box down! Needless to say, this wasn’t a task that was accomplished quickly and could have been avoided entirely had I taken the time to deal with each item immediately instead of prolonging the inevitable.

In so many ways, I think this closely resembles the state of our own hearts. There are times when we are faced with situations that we may not know how to handle so we tuck it away and avoid it completely; or maybe confronting the reality of our circumstances might prove to be too painful so we push it off to the corner of our hearts in hopes that it will be forgotten in the clutter of our lives. God is perpetually trying to move in our hearts. When we are “secretly storing” our emotions…our hurts, pains, failures, or inadequacies…they begin to accumulate leaving little room for God to move freely in our lives. There will inevitably come a time when you are left with no choice but to survey the reality of what has amassed in your heart. You may find that some things are okay to hold onto because they serve a purpose in God’s plan for you. It is likely though that you will find so many hidden rocks that are only weighing you down and need to be relinquished to God in order for Him to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10)

When I finally finished sorting through my things, I felt incredibly liberated! I had to take more trips to the dumpster than I am willing to admit, but I experienced such a sense of relief that I no longer had to carry the load. The challenging task will be in changing my habits to keep only the things that bring value to my life. Grams may not be looking now but God in His omniscient power sees even the things we think we’re secretly harboring. It’s time to give it up and give it all to Him…’cause packing up is hard to do!

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken." Psalm 34:17-20