Clay in the Hands

Today marks the beginning of Lent.  This is a season on the church calendar but not traditionally a part of the Baptist tradition.  While we are not offering ashes here today, we are placing emphasis on Lent within our church family this year (as we have in previous years).  This past Sunday we began a series on Sunday mornings that will run up to Palm Sunday called Uncluttering Your Space.

We have a tendency to fill space.  If we move from a 2 bedroom home to a 3, the first thing we think we must do is – – fill that space.  We do the same with our schedules.  If we have a day on the calendar that has some extra space, we strive to fill it.  We have bought into the lie that busyness is productivity and that doing things – anything – is better than doing nothing.

The problem is that the things we fill our space with can distract us from what is truly important.  In fact, we have a tendency to grow attached to things – even those things that begin as simple distractions.  As we add more and more to our space, we gain a false sense of worth or importance.  And we begin to grow attached to those things with which we have cluttered our space because of the feelings they often generate.

But with attachment, those things move from being distractions to becoming obstacles.  Even worse, some of the clutter may even take the place of what we truly need – a relationship with the Creator.

Lent is about reflection.  Lent is about having the courage to set things aside that clutter our lives and prevent us from the relationship God wants and we desperately need.

This Lenten season, I challenge you to unclutter your space.  What are those things in your life that you have grown attached to that may prevent you from having space for God?

Unclutter!