In my family room sits a very special box. Today it holds my table linens and serves as a make-shift end table. As a child, however, it was my toy chest. Some may find it difficult to appreciate the value of such a simple box. It’s not made of expensive hardwood. The wood stain has worn off in several places. Scratches are abundant. But I love my toy chest because it was made by my Grandpa and I’m reminded of my childhood when I look at it.
The toy chest was like a best friend coming to the rescue. It always provided a quick solution to a messy room. Simply open it up and throw all the toys inside! It usually worked, but sometimes I couldn’t close the lid. So I would bounce up and down on the cover, in hopes that my toys would shift around and fit inside the box.
As an adult, I have exchanged my toys for thoughts and my mind has become my toy chest. The past two months have been filled with learning opportunities and life experiences that evoked numerous thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Each of which deserved careful evaluation. Unfortunately, the rapid succession of the events didn’t allow time for sufficient processing which encouraged me to resort back to my childhood tactics. I simply stuffed it all into my head.
Tucking things away is a good temporary solution. But eventually it becomes necessary to set aside some time to organize. If you don’t, the clutter becomes so great that you forget what you have. And even the greatest treasure loses its value if it’s forgotten. My mind is so full that I am in danger of losing valuable concepts. It’s time for me to organize the “toy chest” of my mind.
Organizing is a fairly easy process with toys. I’m not sure it’s as easy with thoughts, though. Is it possible to empty your mind and throw all your ideas onto the floor? Are a couple hours truly sufficient to complete the task? Like a child before a pile of toys, I’m not even sure where to begin. I need help.
Many organizational coaches break large jobs into bite size pieces as to not overwhelm. Maybe God will coach me by taking my hand and saying, “Here’s the thought we are going to deal with today.” And overtime, together, we will categorize each thought. Thoughts that produce anxiety, anger, or unnecessary negative emotions will be put in the throw away pile. Thoughts that do not line up with God’s way of thinking and do not please Him are garbage. I will need to discard them. Some thoughts will need to be put in the give away pile. I have played with them long enough. I know them thoroughly and now it’s time for me to share them with others. And then there are those thoughts that I will put in the keep pile. They will be beneficial for the days ahead. So I will need to carefully organize them for easy retrieval in the future.
Sometimes I’m tempted to avoid the hard work. My justification would be that everything looks good from the outside. But my heart always wins out and the truth is I want to please my Heavenly Dad. When He looks on the inside, when He opens the lid, I want Him to find a mind that is clean.
Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I desire to walk continually in your truth (Psalm 26:2).
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How excellently (is that a word?) this is written.
I did something similar so long ago….I pretended my heart had a place where a large trunk was stored…you know..the old storage trunks….and that is where I would place certain thoughts, experiences, ideas, truths or untruths in many circumstances….
and at just the right time, many years later, that trunk was opened and I had to deal with all of that. Like you said: some had to be thrown out (they were lies from the pit of hell), some were to be kept or learned from, and some were to be shared as testimony or help for others. I am so thankful you are a pastor’s wife who isn’t afraid to share what is in her heart….THANKS for this!
Thank you Debbie… your words are full of much wisdom… as a man i tend to keep thought’s bottled up inside my head, it’s not always easy to let a ungodly one go, such as how someone wronged me or how i’d like to handle something in a ungodly way and the list can go on and on and on, ect…
One thing i always say to myself in the heat of the moment is “If it’s the worst thing that happens i’ve got it made, thank God i’m saved”, but in reality i tend to hold on to it…
I like the Psalm verse you reference, God knows all the thought’s that go on in our heads and we need to guard them… as “Thought’s turn to words, words turn to actions, actions turn to habits, habits make our character and our character determines our destiny…
It reminds me of a line that stuck in my head from the move Joe Dirt, his momma would say to him, “Is that what you wanta be doin’ when Jesus comes back”… So yeah i admit i watched that silly/goofy movie on a lazy rainy Saturday afternoon this Fall, it was a hard luck turned good type of flick, but those words keep ringing in my ears…
I pray we can all clean out our toy box of the mind and be found about the Lord’s work upon His return…
Come Lord Jesus Come!!!
much love, mike <
Hi Deb,
I just had to come back to read Decluttering again!
I am afraid I let what I call righteous anger cloud my thoughts this past week.
It started out slowly and then after a few turn of events festered to where I cried out, “Lord, help me to forgive and let go of what is not of You.”
The Lord graciously and mercifully reminded me of His word that always helps me to declutter what is not of Him..
Psalm 51:10-12…
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Your presence, O Lord;
And take not Your Holy Spirti from me.
Retsore unto me the joy of Your salvation–
And renew a right spirit within me.
Deb, thank you again for being real.
Pressing on,
MaryJoy