Got Clutter?

If you live in Wilmington you see a new storage facility on every corner. We hold on to so much stuff that storage facilities are the fastest growing commercial property over the past three decades in America! Mike and I have been preparing to move his office next door. It is about half the size and more of what we need since we sold the business. We have til the first of the year to have our office and warehouse ready for the renters to move in. We have been in that building for close to twenty years. At first, it was almost too overwhelming to look at all of our "stuff". I think we spent at least a week just dreading it and then finally dove in. Little by little we started making progress.

The building we are moving out of had room for three additional employees, a kitchen and storage room plus the huge warehouse and they were all full. We had multiple filing cabinets....full! We had construction bins brought out so we could get rid of the clutter. We had a shredding company come out and shred boxes of important papers. There were lots of office supplies that others could use that we gave away. Guys loaded up all the metal so they could get cash for it.

I made the comment to Mike that this will be very freeing to work in a smaller, clean, clutter free space. I think cleaning out is very freeing. In the time of Isaiah, God saw people wanting more and more. They continued to collect because they did not trust God. Isaiah 5: 8, " Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land."

Our warehouse was about 3000 square feet and there was no more room for large equipment. I started thinking, "no more room." No more room in the inn. When we have too much stuff, we don't have as much room for Jesus. Clutter takes up our time, thoughts, money, etc.

While I am excited to clean out and move into our other building Mike thinks it is a little sad. I understand he is thinking about how he started his business, raised a family during that time, and grew it. I see it as we are moving on to bigger and better things. We no longer have the things that held us down.

As this year ends it is a good time to get rid of your clutter. Free yourself of all the extra "stuff." God does not want us to be controlled by pride or selfishness. Jesus said in Luke 6: 38, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Your trash will be someone's treasure! Ecclesiastes 3: 1, "To every thing there is a season....a time to keep, and a time to cast away."

Go into next year clutter free! Cast away!