Clutter in the Closet
Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2

My office is my favorite room. Years ago, after all our grown children had moved out, my husband suggested, “Why don’t I turn this bedroom into your office?” And so, he did. Don painstakingly cleaned woodwork trim, discreetly etched years ago by one of the girls, now a lovely mother, transformed the shades of green walls into lighter coral shades, and hung a large, hand-sewn quilt on the wall behind my taupe-colored recliner. My mother’s great-aunt Selma created the colorful quilt over a hundred years ago. Her patience, perseverance, and attention to detail are on display. How could she have possibly pieced together each small triangle and arranged them in such a unique pattern? How difficult was it to combine seams and then design the intricate backing while hand-stitching each identically spaced tiny thread? I admire my quilt in awe.
The beauty of my cherished wall hanging juxtaposed itself one particular day when I opened my closet door. It menacingly taunted, “I dare you to clean me up!” Books, papers, bags, and unfinished projects threatened to roll out onto the office floor. Clutter threatened to ruin my day and send me retreating.
“You won’t get the best of me,” I triumphantly retorted. In no time, I emptied the large bedroom closet into my office. As I pulled out items, I resisted the urge to sit down and read the books, look through the photographs, and dream up new projects. Stay on task. De-clutter the closet! Minutes morphed into hours, but I finally closed the door on a closet so meticulous I bet even Great Aunt Selma would give me kudos. Most of all, I felt a sense of peace after hours of persistence and attention to detail.
My mind can be a cluttered closet. What about yours? When life becomes overly busy, when I hear disconcerting news, or when I put off God and replace quiet time with activity, I feel the angst of confusion. Worldly thoughts consume my mind—and I don’t mean sinful immoral thoughts—I refer to those busy to-do lists, the mind-numbing TV shows, alluring media posts, and haunting “what-ifs?” of the mundane busy life. Little by little, my focus is off God and on “Me and the things of this world.”
I have a choice: clean out the closet clutter of my mind or focus on this world. I choose to sequester myself for however long it takes to get back on track through Bible reading, prayer, confession, and meditation. Then, I need to set in place tools to keep my mental closet clean and focused: a scheduled daily time with the Lord, memorizing Scripture, listening to worship music and old hymns, journaling, and practicing the presence of God, even during the seemingly mundane tasks of the day. For me, a God-focused mind yields a peace that surpasses all understanding, as described in Philippians 4:7.
Dear Lord, I want peace of mind, and I know that can only happen when I keep You as my focus—my center. Show me ways to set my mind on the things that are valuable to You. Show me what to remove and toss aside—all those things contributing to the clutter.
Take a few minutes to think. What consumes you and potentially clutters your mind, taking your focus away from God? How might Colossians 3:2 challenge you today? What small step will you take now?
Delve Deeper: Read Philippians 4:4-9. List ways you can rid your mind of clutter based on these verses. What can you add to your thinking to draw you to God?