In my part of the world, May is not a time to think about personal self-improvement and other interior matters. We do that in January, during Lent, maybe in September, but not in May. In rural Missouri, May is when the weather is reliably warm. It is time to raise the storm windows and let in the fresh air. It is time for spring cleaning the house, for throwing out the accumulation of winter.

It is astounding what we hold on to. The shirt we never wear but might someday. The books we never read but might someday. The platters, plastic storage containers, pots with no lids, lids with no pots, that old brown purse, the shoes that never fit, unused tools, half-completed projects, that cluttery stuff! It’s too much! Let’s go yard-sale-ing instead. Sale signs are popping up everywhere along with the vio- lets. There might be some good deals. But first, what about the cost of too much stuff?

In our house, we try to control too much stuff by adhering to the wisdom of designer William Morris, who said: “Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.” My husband is better at it than I am. He has a rule for himself. When something comes in, something must go out. Give him a shirt, he gives a shirt away. He has one small closet, one bureau drawer. I cheat. I put clothes in a cedar chest so I can decide later what to do with them.

Here is a sobering fact. The self-storage industry claims more than $39 billion in annual revenues and construction spending on self-storage has increased by 584% from January 2015 to January 2020. Self-storage is an apt name. For we give a little bit of ourselves to each thing we own — our time and energy to buy it, clean it, walk around it, store it, wonder what to do with it. And someday, someone we love will inherit all this stuff. Lucky them.

A home can hold only a few beautiful and useful things. Too much and they cease to be beautiful or useful. The same is true for our hearts and minds. We can only hold so much. If our homes are clut- tered, chances are that our hearts and minds will be cluttered, too.

In the Easter stories, we hear about the disciples hiding in the upper room or walking on the road to Emmaus or meeting Jesus on the shore. Keeping a low profile, they would have traveled light, and they are feeling empty inside after the death of their friend and teacher. Each time Jesus appeared to them, they did not recognize him. Who would? He was dead! But they had room for him and his words. Their eyes were opened, their hearts burned within them, and his words changed their lives.

Do we have room for life-changing words? Do we have time for the Risen Jesus? For Jesus to rise in us, anything that is not of Jesus has to go. Let’s do what comes naturally in May. Let’s spring clean. But while we are cleaning out the closet, let’s let go of whatever is holding us back from being the person we are meant to be. As we jettison the outgrown clothes or unused kitchen items, let’s also surrender the grudges, anxieties, selfishness, envy, pessimism, cynicism, anything and everything about which the Holy Spirit is whispering in our ear: Oh come on, you don’t need that. Let it go. Trust me.

About the Author: Paige Byrne Shortal is an author, choir singer, and lay minister. She holds degrees in theology and pastoral ministry from Saint Louis University and the Aquinas Institute of Theology. After forty years in pastoral ministry, she is enjoying semi-retirement with her husband, three adult children, two dogs, a cat, and a dozen chickens on a rural homestead in Missouri. Paige Byrne Shortal is also a regular contributor to Bringing Home the Word which is posted each week at the link below.

CCGR Weekly Newsletter (5-26-24)
Bringing Home the Word (5-26-24)
The Kids Bulletin (5-26-24)

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