An Anchor in the Sea of Clutter
Standing in the corner of the room. Head tilted. Staring at the space around me. Or more like staring at the lack of space around me, mentally rearranging the room in an attempt to envision the perfect space that would bring about a room that looked good enough to feature in those popular farmhouse style magazines. With anxious resolve, I decided there’s too much clutter in the room and the only solution was to clear the room out. There began the swirling storm of decluttering in my home.
Leading up to that point, I had heard the facts of recent studies which state how clutter was one of the biggest contributing factors of anxiety for women today. As I listened, I felt as if I had found the answer to my inner pleas for peace that I had been longing to find. It’s got to be the clutter that was making me so anxious and I needed to go through my whole house and purge. Then would I be able to find peace in my home. Box after box of kid’s toys, books, clothes, household and miscellaneous items were removed from the house, and I would walk into a room thinking that it was now that magazine-ready space I dreamed of only to be met with complete underwhelm and defeat. No, this still isn’t it. Maybe it's the decor. Maybe now if I get just the right decor, furniture, and house plants then I’ll feel that peace I was desperate for. After a Target run that left me guilt-ridden for bringing more things into my newly decluttered space, I stood in that same corner of the room, exhausted and still longing for that feeling of peace that I so earnestly had sought to find in my home. What was I missing?
Isaiah 26:3 states, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.” In the original language ‘perfect peace’ is stated as ‘shalom shalom’. The word ‘keep’ denotes the idea of continual peace. It’s not just peace for a moment or a season but sustaining peace for a lifetime. It’s not peace if the circumstances are just right or if my house is clutter free and magazine ready but peace despite the mess. The world says that in order to have peace in our life we need to declutter our homes, practice yoga, take a bubble bath, and sniff essential oils. And while these ideas can be nice and calm us in the moment, they don’t keep us in perfect peace the way God can. The only way I can find true peace, perfect peace, is not by decluttering the space in my home but rather decluttering the space in my mind. When I place my thoughts continually on Jesus and trust fully in Him on a day to day basis, then he becomes my anchor for peace. My mind can constantly be swirling in the storms of life and the seas of messages from the world thrown at us, but when Jesus is my anchor, my thoughts return to Him, and my trust is centered on Him, then I will find that peace my soul craves. So how do I keep steadfast thoughts on Jesus? Philippians 4:6-7 states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When those feelings of anxiousness creep into my mind and lead me on a war against clutter, may I turn to God in prayer and drop an anchor in His peace that surpasses all that the world says will offer peace. When my attitude toward the house of stuff around me is one that makes me want to burn the ships and run from it, may I pause in a moment of gratitude and praise God for the abundance of blessings in my home before me.
