that fresh spring clean feeling

It’s springtime, which means it’s spring CLEANING time. I know you’re excited, but please contain yourself. I’m trying to.

Even if you’re not like me and don’t ask for cleaning products/tools for Christmas, maybe you should take some time this spring to clean and organize. After all, you can’t take all that stuff with you when you die. (Morbid, I know.)

Did you read today’s devotion on page 11? It prompted this blog post because it talks about your inheritance. I’m not talking about the stuff left to you by an elderly relative you barely knew when he or she died, but about your eternal inheritance—the one Christians get by accepting Jesus. All the stuff we collect on earth may be great, but it’s not going to last. And even if it does last hundreds of years, we don’t. (And when we die, we have to leave our stuff to someone else.) If you’re a believer, none of those belongings you loved and cherished on earth is going to matter once you get to heaven anyway. I bet we won’t even remember the stuff we collected on earth that cluttered our rooms and attics.

So why don’t you make time this week or month to go through your stuff? I think you’ll be glad you did. Here are some ideas:
• Give away or donate the clothes you haven’t worn in a year or more.
• Let go of those love notes from ex-boyfriends/girlfriends. (Make a paper-mache piñata out of them for Cinco De Mayo!)
• Take the books you’re not going to read again to your church or a local ministry that might need them.
• All the hotel soaps and shampoos you know you’ll never use but can’t stand to throw away? Donate them to a homeless shelter or ministry. They’ll use them!
• Still keeping your school notebooks from elementary school? Why? Have you used them since you finished that grade? Recycle those things!
• Got a load of stuffed animals taking up most of your closet? Go through them, pick out a few favorites to keep for sentimental reasons, then donate the rest (provided they’re in good condition) to a hospital or police station for kids to have when they’re afraid.

While it may be hard to part with something because it’s yours (especially if you bought it with your hard-earned cash), if you’re not using it, it’s not doing anyone any good. Even though getting rid of your things is never easy, when you look at all your belongings in light of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-21, hopefully it’ll make it a little less tough.

We’re not saying you should give away everything you own and live in squalor, but if you’ve got more than you need, why not share with those in need? Plus, we’re pretty sure your mom might just squeal with delight at the sight of your freshly cleaned room.