Packing tape or trash bag?

Confession time... When I get overwhelmed and my brain just can't take in anymore, I watch Hoarders. I used to think it just made me feel better about myself - my house doesn't look THAT bad! But in all reality, I feel like I learn something with each new episode. My house may not look like that, but sometimes my life does.

Each episode highlights the emotional mess in someone's life. Hoarding isn't a shopping or collecting issue, it's a relationship and/or a grieving problem. Sometimes it's even the grieving of a relationship problem! And in the end, it's not a matter of letting go of stuff, it's a letting go of feelings. Feelings of loss, feelings of resentment, feelings of hurt and pain.

Some people clutter their house with stuff and some clutter their lives with stuff, but in the end, we're all the same. It's all just to keep us from dealing with whatever is at the bottom of the pile. And some of us have bigger piles than others!

A typical episode is broken down into five parts: 1. The hoarder tells their side of the story. 2. A specialist surveys the hoard and the two sit down and make a plan to declutter. 3. Family and friends show up (with additional help) to provide hands-on and moral support. 4. The hoarder has to come to terms with the fact that the stuff is getting in the way of functioning as a normal person and look deep within themselves to admit what the real issue is. 5. The home is clean and the hoarder is reminded of how life used to be, before the hoard.

Here comes my 2x4 moment. Wait for it...

My job has me out and about a lot and this morning I was sitting in a church full of people I'd never met before. Actually, this morning I attended two services in two different churches. Not a problem, I'm not afraid of meeting new people and I love my job. But after I got done speaking (in church #2) and was sitting among the congregation again, here's the words I heard from that still small voice, "Look beneath the clutter and see My church!"

Excuse me? ..."My church. See My church."

BAM! Sometimes I love these 2x4 moments!

Right now, off the top of your head, how many different denominations can you think of? I can think of SEVEN! And I'm sure if I Googled it, there would be MANY more! But God doesn't see us as denominations, He simply sees His church... the body of Christ. As far as He's concerned, all the denominations and rules and traditions that go with them are CLUTTER! If we could only see what He sees!

We are REALLY good at clutter. We've filled our churches with so much STUFF that sometimes it's hard to even see the table we're all supposed to be sharing! Does He care how many songs we sang this morning? NO! Does He care which songs we sang this morning? NO! Does He care what I wore to church this morning? NO! Does He care if no one or everyone lifted their hands this morning? NO! Does He care if Sunday School was AFTER the service? NO!

But I can tell you what God does care about. His Word, His precious Holy Word. The fruit we live on - love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And when our time on this earth is over, the question He asks won't be "How many times did you go to church." His only question will be, "Do you believe my Son loved you enough to die for you?"

So maybe it's time for us to step back and look at the clutter? What's worth keeping? What's so important to us that we would let it come between sisters, between brothers, from the lady down the street? What is holding us back from functioning as The Church? And on the day we stand face to face with our Creator and we give Him our side of the story, will He smile and say, "Well done my good and faithful servant" or will He carefully point out the clutter that was more important to us?

My prayer is that the STUFF is gone. That we can pull out the bags and boxes from underneath the pile and examined our hearts. I pray we can haul off all the stuff that keeps us from loving our family. And in the end, maybe there will be so much space that not only will EVERYONE be seated at the table, but we can all share the same house. Let there be joy in the house of the Lord!

Psalm 23:6 ESV

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.