Do you have a junk drawer? You know, where random trinkets, rolls of tape, paper clips, take out menus, and receipts accumulate. I like to assume we all have one. The place where we store seemingly useless things in hope that they may one day be needed. Discarding them altogether seems out of the question. What if I need that instruction manual for my heated blanket in three years? I couldn’t possibly throw away the glow stick I got from that birthday party in high school. Of course I need to keep the copy of that magazine with the cast of my favorite movie on the cover.
Do you ever do this with life? Hoard uselessness in hopes that it will one day become meaningful? I know I do. And I think it can take on many forms. We live in a culture that is constantly feeding us the lie that we need more. That quantity trumps quality and we will only achieve fulfillment by bringing more and more stuff into our lives. More junk, that is.
When I reflect on different seasons of my life, I realize that I am the most joyful and content when I strip myself of clutter. When I take the time to discern what is important to me, and what I can get rid of. When I empty out the junk drawer and see how much more room there is to live and breathe outside of the confines of uselessness.
That being said, this discerning process is far from easy. It is hard to let go of the things that everyone around us deems as crucial. It is nearly impossible to silence the voice the world when everything seems to be screaming at us. But is that the root of it? Wanting what the world wants? Convincing ourselves that simplicity is best? It’s definitely part of it. But certainly not the root.
I believe it is a pride issue that comes face-to-face with the fear of what will happen if we fully trust the Lord. Whether I like to admit it or not, my pride rears its head a little whenever I try to step outside of other people’s expectations. I start believing I am somehow letting others down when I stop doing what is deemed as normal and acceptable. This is then met with the uncertainty of what will happen if I just let go. If I trust that what the Lord says is good and true and enough. Enough. That’s the key. I know wholeheartedly that His words are good and true. But enough is the tricky one.
I think experiencing the sufficiency of Christ is almost impossible in the midst of clutter. Not only does it take up space, but it distracts us from gazing into the heart of Jesus. We fill our lives with meaningless trinkets. We let them take up room. We focus so much on how they might possibly mean something someday that we lose sight of the One who is all that matters. It is so easy to start leaning away from Jesus and begin to depend on the things that make us comfortable. We toss crap into a junk drawer because we are too scared of what the Lord will ask of us if we let Him have that space.
So what is the junk in your drawer? Is it the gratification of tons of “likes” on social media? A relationship? Is it binge watching Netflix? An addiction? Success? Appearance? I believe it can take on many forms. I also believe that (most of) these things aren’t inherently bad, so please don’t misunderstand me. All I am implying is that these things can so easily compete for our time and attention. I am terrified of one day reflecting on my life and being disappointed in myself for not choosing what is best. What is most important. What is enough. I don’t want there to ever come a day when I am too fixated on junk that I miss His gentle whisper.
Although this is a legitimate fear of mine, I have found it to be so easy to live on the surface, fill my life with distractions, and remain comfortable. But I do not believe this is how we were designed. If he Lord truly created us in His image, then we are wired for substance. We are knitted together for the purpose of glorifying the Lord and craving something more. Our lives are works of art that are constructed by the most creative and loving God who lavishes beauty upon us. I urge you…don’t cloud that truth with clutter.
Empty the junk drawer and watch God move mountains.
