Kimberly Gladden / Pastor of Small Groups and Singles

I was on vacation last week and instead of travelling I was deep cleaning my house. It was time to clean out the closets, air out the house, do some painting, etc. Just as our homes need a periodic sprucing up if you will, so our lives from time to time need to be re-examined. When we do deep cleaning and we’re thinking about what to keep in our closets, organizers tell us to ask three questions: 1) Does it still fit? 2) Is it in good condition? 3) Have I worn it within the past year? If the answer to any one of these questions is “no” we are admonished to get rid of that item. I think for a moment it would be interesting to apply those same questions to our lives in general. Often, we become people of routine. We have long established habits, and assume that this summer will be like last summer, this year like last year, this decade like the last. In the book of Isaiah, God tells His people:

Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting
out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands” (Isaiah 43: 18 – 19, The Message) 

To paraphrase, this means to be open to the possibility of new things in your life. It could be a new ministry, a new friend, a new hobby, a different vacation spot, a new area of service, even a new job. Sometimes we are holding on so tightly to what we already have, that we slam the door in the face of the new thing that wants to burst into our lives and bless us. And while you would never throw your whole closet out, most of us could identify at least a couple of items that need to be updated, given away to someone else who could use it, or discarded. Perhaps it’s the same with our lives. Are there things we are currently doing that we need to approach in a new way? Are there things clouding our schedules that someone else could do more efficiently? And are there any habits, rituals, obsessions that simply need to be done away with? Perhaps by letting some things go we could have more time to do the thing that stirs us deeply, moves us to compassion, and excites us to the point that we lose track of time. Here’s a question: How much time do you spend doing things that really feed your interest and passion? As a pastor, I have a uniquely challenging schedule. But in the midst of that, I fight like a tiger or tigress if you will, to protect some time for things I’m passionate about.  I confess I don’t always succeed in securing that time, but the need to keep in front of me a vision of what a healthy, whole, balanced life looks like is ever before me. And each year, I try to live true to more of what I already know. As I cleaned, I made some changes in my house, and challenged myself to identify if there are changes needed in my life. I want to open to bright new possibilities. For me, it started with cleaning out my clothes’ closet.