I feel like conversations are missing. Conversations about stuff. Specifically Stuff. Like right now I’m sitting in a chair, wearing sneakers, socks, sweats, fingerless gloves, and three shirts, and a blanket – because I’m a cold girl. I also have on my glasses and a little jewelry. Next to me is my purse with my wallet, phone, journal, pouch, glasses case and I’m holding an iPad.
Lots of stuff exist on or with me in this moment and none of it really matters without me needing or wanting it. What a weird conversation to have. But I am sorta the weirdo friend that says off topic things because I’m pondering out loud or shifts between 3 different stories in one sitting.
I believe our stuff is connected to every aspect of our lives. We like things. And then we don’t. We buy things because we are happy or because we are sad. We have stuff that helps us when we are sick and we have stuff that helps us when we are well. We eat with stuff. We sleep on stuff. You get the point. And so what? No big deal. We have stuff and we make decisions to have it.
I believe our stuff is connected to EVERY aspect of our lives including our stress, anxieties, and sometimes depression – the ugly consequences of stuff; stuff that is usually clutter. Clutter is just another way of saying too much of a good thing. At one time, all the things that are clutter were things that we thought we needed or wanted. Clutter at its worst can be all consuming, crippling; a sort of imprisonment. It’s hard to talk about these things.
At this level, our stuff brings on shame and embarrassment. We feel alone and helpless. We beat ourselves up because we don’t know what to do about it. So I feel like conversations are missing, or maybe I should say places for conversations to be had are missing. We began our small group meetings for our church on Saturday. Every semester for the past 3 years, the Lord confirms in me that there is a need for declutter group. Too much stuff is a real problem, often ignored or dismissed to the bottom of our priority lists. There’s a societal objective that tells us we can and should have whatever we want. That we’ve earned it and, even worse, that we can organize our stuff enough until we find a solution. I truly believe that times are turning and more and more are seeing the repercussions of this thought process.
Our meetings become a place for us to talk about clutter issues, void of shame and judgement. It’s like a therapy group for your stuff because no one should feel alone in their stuff. The struggle is real and we should start talking about it. Let’s come together and lean on each other.
2 Timothy 1:7 – God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
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