De-Cluttering

When I was first married and had a new baby, I was struck by the fact that I really didn't know how to clean my house. A friend told me about a resource called www.flylady.net. The premise is to help those of us who often feel overwhelmed by chores and To Do lists to simply jump in a little at a time. I can sometimes spend hours on a plan of attack, but then lose steam for the actual doing of the task. Anyway, flylady breaks it down for you. She helped me for a while. The problem is she can really clog up your email if you let her, so I began deleting her whenever I saw her. I've deleted her for the past few years.

But the other day, for some reason she reached my inbox instead of my spam box (I had relegated her to spam). I decided to read her again, and she kicked me in the rear. I've decided to give her a try again, and this morning, I had made all the beds, re-cleaned the kitchen, done laundry, fed kids (and gotten them out the door) all by 8:15. Once I put the baby down for a nap, I could enjoy my own breakfast and a quiet time.

I read this: "Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth. I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the Lord. ... You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place." (Psalm 31: 4-8)

I felt the contrast between the tightness of the trap and the freedom of the spacious place. I listed some of the traps that are set for me, traps for my time, traps for my mind. I do not want to fall into those traps. And when I do, I need God to free me and set my feet in a spacious place.

The tidy home, the de-cluttering of all that is around me (part of the flylady's mantra) does help with the spacious place. My home, my body, my mind are all reflections of where I am. Am I trapped right now? Am I free? These reflections will materialize in different ways for different people at different seasons of our lives. But we know if we're in a trap and need help getting out to our spacious place.

I feel like my mind has been so cluttered lately with worries and daydreams and unorganized "To Do's." I feel ready to escape the traps of the computer, the traps of my postponing excuses, the traps of my weak self-control, the traps of my lack of trust in the Lord's provision and taking matters into my own hands...

"Free me from the trap that is set for me.... You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place."