40. Cleaning Out Some Clutter

“Do you consider yourself to be a disciplined person?” Stan asked.

“In some ways, yes, and in some ways, no,” was my response.  “What about you?” I asked Stan.

“I was a mess at one time,” Stan said.  “And if I am not careful, messiness can creep into my life when I am not paying attention.”

“In what ways were you a mess?” I asked.

“There were many,” Stan said, “but I will give just one for now.  We can revisit this whole subject another day.”

“Alcohol was a problem for me,’ Stan began.  ‘I come from a long line of alcoholics.  I do not consider myself as being an alcoholic, but I was certainly alcoholic.”

“What’s the difference?” I asked.

“Alcohol became too important to me.  I was looking forward too much to feeling the sensation that alcohol gave me.  It wasn’t that I couldn’t control the drinking, it was that drinking was simply too important.   I focused too much on alcohol.”

“How the Lord took alcohol out of my life is another story for another day, but the important thing right now is what removing that clutter meant to me and my relationship with the Lord.’

Stan continued, “With the clutter of alcohol in my life, there were also a lot of other things that came along with it..”

“Such as?”

“Wrong relationships, improper motivations, missteps of all sorts.  Those sorts of things.”

“When the alcohol was gone, those things went away also.  One of the things that really surprised me was the number of people who I considered friends that no longer wanted to be around me if I wasn’t joining them in drinking.”

“At first, I was disappointed at that, but then realized they were part of the clutter that needed to be removed.”

With a real determined look on his face, Stan said, “It is crucial for me to examine all of my relationships on an on-going basis, especially my relationship with God, to make certain everything is as it should be and that there is not clutter that needs to be cleaned out.”

“And I recommend it for you, my friend.  I think it is real important.  Clearly one of the most important thing you can do.

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If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  2 Corinthians 5:17

Prayer:  Lord you know all of the things you want to remove from my life, the things that are nothing more than clutter in the way of the relationship you want with me.  I, too, want those things removed.  Please, Lord, move in me in accord with your will to remove all you know that needs to be removed.  And replace that clutter with what you want.  Amen.