Slow Down and Be Still
First of all, I would like to slow down and be still with you by praying.
Father God, we thank you for showing us this past week where we needed to slow down so we could become more patient with You, ourselves, and one another. You tell us in 1 Corinthians 13:1 that love is patient. It is the first word that You use to show me what love looks like. Boy Lord, I am so impatient! I want to pray fast, eat fast, talk fast, walk fast, and be in a relationship fast! I want a fast computer, a fast phone, and a fast fax. I want a fast car and a fast plane. I want to shop, shop, shop, move, move, move, till I drop, drop, drop! I want everything FAST – fast food, and a fast drive through. I want, want, want. I want this and I want that! Help me Lord, to slow down enough to hear You say what I need, need, need, vs. what I want, want, want.
What do you think is the #1 word that people use to describe how they think or feel about their clutter? If you said "overwhelmed," you are correct. How would you describe overwhelmed? The dictionary says that it means to pour down and bury beneath, or to crush. So being overwhelmed can make us think and feel like we are being poured down, buried, or crushed.
Being overwhelmed is often the result of taking on too much and doing it too fast. We pile up so much on ourselves that we feel overwhelmed by all of our doing!
In order to lessen that feeling of being overwhelmed, I would like to start out by having you slow down and reflect on what you found out about yourself this past week. How did you make an honest attempt to slow down or be still for just one minute every day? How did this slowing down change or transform you? Did your change influence someone else? Notice that I said influence and not change. I want to reinforce what I said last week. You can only change yourself. You can not change another. When change takes place in you, it can influence others, but it is up to each individual to decide if he or she is motivated to change themselves.
The one word that I used to describe my clutter from last week was “chores.” More specifically it had to do with all of my outdoor chores. Here was my thinking at the beginning of this past week. I wanted to get all my chores done by Father’s Day weekend, since I was expecting company, but I needed to be patient with myself. I needed to let go of the want to have the perfect completed look. I needed to be realistic about the full work week schedule that was already going to take place. By choosing to be still and let go of all the doing, it enabled me to nurture myself and take in the beauty of my yard as it was, while enjoying conversation with neighbors passing by - a big change for me, because I often tell myself that I do not have time.
So as we continue to reflect on the answers that we have gathered about ourselves over this past week, I am now going to ask you to consider what one clutter category best represents where you are at this time in your life.
I have classified clutter into 7 categories, and I use this acronym: MMESS PR
Mental
Material
Emotional
Situational
Spiritual
Physical
Relational
After each category you will see some examples of the signs/symptoms for that clutter category. Please note that the signs and symptoms that are listed are simply that, examples. No sign or symptom is specific to a certain category. Let me clarify. Scattered may be a sign/symptom that gets reflected in more than one category. It can be the sign/symptom of someone's mental clutter and for someone else it could reflect their emotional clutter.
Material: paper, clothes, toys, laundry
Mental: scattered, conflicting beliefs, low self worth or value, negativity
Emotional: anger, shame, depression, isolation, judging, criticizing
Situational: divorce, moving, death, job loss, finances
Spiritual: religiosity, psychics, horoscopes, numerology, over serving
Physical Health: weight/food issues, cancer, addictions (drugs, alcohol, smoking)
Relational: dating, marriage, parenting, work relations
Please keep in mind that these clutter categories along with their signs and symptoms are all intertwined with one another. You have clutter in all of these categories and it comes at you in different ways and at different times throughout your life. By breaking down the concept of clutter into these seven categories, we are breaking down the big picture of what is stress.
When we look at the whole big picture and think we have to deal with it all at one time, we don't know where to start, and that is what causes us to think and feel overwhelmed. It’s too much to tackle. It's like seeing the drawing of a new house you are going to build and thinking that you have to build the whole house all at the same time. It doesn't work that way. You have to break down the building of that home in a step by step process to accomplish the end result or you will be the one that ends up being broken down.
Your SW for this coming week is to choose the one clutter category that most reflects that area in your life that prompted you to slow down and be still last week. This is the area of clutter that most needs your attention in your life right now. As you focus on your clutter category, write it down, and then record some of your thoughts as you ask your self how the Scripture from Psalm 46:10, “Be silent and know that I am God,” speaks to you personally about your clutter category. This is the Scripture that backs up our need to slow down and be still. Do you remember what seed you waned to plant? Go back and look up the answer you wrote from your first SW. Was it healing, hope, love, or Truth? As reinforcement for yourself, write down the seed you wanted to plant in relationship to the clutter category you have now chosen to focus on. This will help you to begin to seeing the fruit of your planting.
Psalm 46:10 reminds me to be quiet so I can listen. When I am quiet I can listen to what God is saying through His word, His creation, my experiences, and others. When I am quiet I can better hear what I say to myself through my thoughts. And when I practice the discipline of keeping my mouth closed, I am able to better hear what others are speaking. This Scripture also reinforces my need for knowledge. It says know that I am God. In other words, I am not God, God is God, and God really wants me to think about being quiet and Him being God. When I meditate on what God is telling me, I am applying that knowledge about Him being God to my thoughts and it will change me. Remember what we learned from last week: knowledge + application = change.
My clutter will always build up when I attempt to do too much, do it too fast, or I am too busy to slow down. My clutter builds up when I do not still myself to be renewed, refreshed, and relaxed. Therefore, when I slow down and I when I still myself, I lessen my clutter.
In terms of symbolism, the lighthouse is a symbol that God has often used with me, and others, to get our attention to slow down and be still. Whenever I see one, whether it is a picture or an actual lighthouse, I am reminded that God is God, and He is the Lighthouse that directs me at all times, especially in my darkness when I am alone, or when I am overwhelmed by the storms of life. See if He uses the lighthouse to get your attention to remember that He is God, and that He is the One who will direct your steps to slow down and be still in Him. If not a lighthouse, it may be this song by Steven Curtis Chapman called Be Still and Know.
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