A Clearing Amid the Clutter

The new year has motivated me to organize and purge. 

I got rid of some books sitting on my shelves that I didn't even like that much when I first read them. I threw out an old bedspread I thought I might reuse that greeted me every time I opened a closet. I parted with broken costume jewelry that I somehow never got around to fixing. 

I organized my ribbons and wrapping paper drawer. I tackled the bins of tools and cleaning products under my kitchen sink. 

I wondered why I was keeping assorted bottles of glue and bags of nuts and bolts and gizmos I couldn’t even identify. 

But I did find the cover for my chandelier. Except it was for the chandelier in my old house. I wonder if the girl who is living there now has been looking for it?

So I want to reorganize my life too. Get rid of the clutter in my head and in my soul. 

There are experiences I’d like to clear out, chapters in my life I wish I could trash, and events I pretty much consider as junk. It seems to me that these life-episodes are a confusing, jumbled mess. And I feel like I want to edit them out of the story of my life. 

But maybe I should reorganize these thoughts.

Maybe I ought to reconsider what I regard as clutter. 

Maybe what I think are the messy times of my life should be looked at as something with a little more value. 

When I think about the times that tangled me up, they were really just stopovers on my journey that brought me to a new place. 

Some of those places were dry and dusty and left me feeling parched and burned. But eventually I continued moving forward. 

And realized that I came away refreshed. Or headed down a new path. Or left with a new perspective. 

I’m realizing that maybe this jumbled mess of experiences isn’t clutter at all. And I should keep them as a reminder of where I’ve been. And how far I’ve come. 

Because up ahead on my life's path, I think I see a clearing where I thought only clutter was.

A year ago I wrote about my aversion to Facebook. (You can read it here.) I felt like everyone’s page was shouting “Look at my perfect husband, my perfect kids, my perfect life.” 

And I didn’t have much to showcase. But a friend helped me design a personal page with a professional look that included my blog banner. She locked it down with all the privacy controls available. No crazy photos. Not much personal information. 

But she told me I'd have to post at least once a month. Which seemed like a lot to me. But I did it. Old friends found me. I wondered who cared what I was doing since sometimes I just posted a photo of a dessert I'd made, but my friends cheered me on by liking my posts and commenting. 

Somehow I was getting used to being on Facebook. 

And now I'm going to co-lead a small group on Facebook through the website (in)courage. This strikes me as ironic. But I think it’s part of the ongoing journey God has planned for me. 

To bring me to this very place. Where I didn't even know I wanted to be. This clearing where I've landed amid some of the clutter-experiences of my life. That I might be able to use again in sharing with others.

I thought Facebook would be the last place I'd want to interact and connect until I realized it’s part of my God-sized dream. 

Because I want to be an encourager. To share and grow with other women in the (in)courage community. 

Where I'll be posting status updates, sending notifications and liking posts. With the amazing women I'm going to meet. 

And hope to call my friends.

I'm linking up with fellow God-sized dreamers today at GodSizedDreams.com. Click the image to read their stories!