This morning I took a look at my night stand and saw it for what it truly has become.

The bottom line is that my night stand has become a place to put things, like an open drawer where nothing is hidden away.

I don’t even really know how it got this way. 

I remember clearing my night stand at Christmas time. It seems that I accumulate things around Christmas – things like receipts from purchases and small stocking stuffer trinkets that have no other home. 

I get to the place where I just want to wipe everything off the stand and start over. 

On the stand I have a lamp and a clock – they belong there – but then there’s all the clutter. 

I think it gets that way because the night stand is viewed as a temporary place to put things, like my wallet, keys or glasses that only stay there for the night – not forever, just for right now. 

The only problem with that kind of thinking is that “for right now” becomes forever … well, until you get sick and tired of the clutter and wipe it clean and start over. 

Part of the problem is that the things on my night stand don’t have a permanent place. They get there because I don’t know where to put them and I might need them again. 

Right now I have several receipts lying on it. I put them there because I didn’t want to throw them out yet. Some of them have been there a long time. I don’t need them any longer; it’s just that I haven’t got around to trashing them. 

I do have an envelope there for gas receipts. I need to collect them for income tax purposes. The envelope is on my night stand to remind me to put the receipts in it. 

I can be one of those out-of-sight-out-of-mind kind of guys so the visual is a reminder. But it sure adds to the clutter. 

I also have a few masks piled on the corner of the night stand. That’s a new thing. When they get washed I put them there because I have easy access to them. I don’t know where to put them either.

And that is probably my biggest problem with the things that are cluttering and taking over my night stand. I don’t know what to do with them. They have no other place to go so they become like a layer of dust on the stand. The dust could be wiped away but it just lays there for a while. 

Well, it’s been long enough. Today I’m going to throw out, put away or find a home for the myriad of things that have cluttered my night stand.

Ha, then I will actually see the layer of dust and be able to wipe it off. 

Here’s the thing: Just like a night stand can become cluttered with things that shouldn’t be there, that we should get rid of or place somewhere else, our lives can get cluttered with things that shouldn’t be there, that we need to deal with and settle. Every once in a while, it’s good to think through the things that are cluttering your life and do something about it. Ask God what needs to go and what needs to be dealt with. Usually the clutter in your life will get in the way of developing your relationship with God. Take some time to clear off the clutter. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s cluttering up your life right now? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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