Spring cleaning

Psalm 51:10 states: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”[1] Every now and then we are called to do a spring cleaning- this term does not necessarily mean it will happen in the springtime, but it is a time when cleaning both inside and outside are done. It is a time when self reflection, prayer and contemplation are used when deciding what remains, what is donated, what needs to be fixed and what frankly needs to be permanently removed from our lives. They might happen together or at different times during the year. The most important thing is to be open to the Holy Spirit and not allow oneself to get overwhelmed with the process.

We are called to spring clean because it gets to a point where our bodies can only hold onto so much stuff that it’s time to let it go and move on. It happens on four different levels 1) spiritually, 2) emotionally/ psychologically 3) social media, 4) at a physical level.

Spiritually– 1 Peter 2:1 states: “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.”[2] The idea is one takes time to take stock of what is going on in one’s life. See what is working, where one is struggling and learn ways how to improve it. The first level happens on a spiritual level. Where one examines what is working and not working inside one’s church, family etc. Perhaps the family is under spiritual attack so deliverance or family counselling or a combination of the two are needed? Perhaps one has outgrown their present church and one needs to find another. In other circumstances, the church might not be working so one needs to make some changes. Spiritually one also looks internally to examine what is working, or not working, and make some adjustments. Perhaps one is struggling with reading the Bible so perhaps a way to fix it is to find a Bible version that works for them? My personal favorites are the NRSV and NJKV, but I digress. 1 Timothy 3:5 states: “for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?”[3] This is the time in essence to take an internal examination of one’s spiritual life and change what needs to be changed.

Emotionally/Psychologically– is related to the spiritual world but it looks at areas more detailed. This is where one examines their personal relationships, what gives them pleasure, and what frankly annoys the heck out of them. This might mean one has to remove unhealthy people from their lives or change jobs or get out of difficult situations. Actions happens through prayer, worship, and interacting with fellow Christians or good friends. I had a friend who was ghosting me for years. Out of the blue they wanted to be friends again, and after deep thought, I decided not to let the person back into my life, not because I did not care but because if the person was allowed back, they would only cause more problems that frankly I do not need. Sometimes in tough situations, we are called to seek professional help such as speaking to a pastor, a trained counsellor, psychologist, a social worker or even the police. Although their advice might be hard to hear depending on the situation it is important to be receptive to receiving their help since these professionals are trained to handle the most difficult situations. Thanks to their help, it is possible to find solutions to the problems one faces. Sometimes too, divorce might be necessary especially in abusive relationships. No one deserves to be treated disrespectfully from anyone especially their significant other.  Please never be ashamed to use the resources they offer for example. –  food banks and shelters are created for these reasons.

Social Media– Ephesians 4:31-32 states: Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” [4]

Every now and then it is a good idea to look into one’s social media and see what groups one belongs to, who they are friends with and what pages they follow and clean out what is no longer relevant to one’s present life. Removing oneself from unnecessary Facebook groups, unfollowing from or blocking, restricting, or unfriending people from Facebook is another way to self clean. Checking one’s privacy settings to ensure they are high is another way to ensure that only certain people are seeing the posts. Remember with Facebook and other similar social media platforms, it is best to keep one’s content to friends only. If you have a social media stalker that likes to comment on public posts, remove yourself from these groups and refrain from posting anything that can give the individual the ability to make contact. It is also alright to make up a significant other such as an imaginary husband to get these people to back off. Take pictures or screen shots of the content they post. Block them and whenever possible, report them to the police.  Some people like to cause trouble.

An individual’s social media account should be a place where people are witnessed to of God’s eternal, and unconditional love. This doesn’t mean plastering one’s social media account with Bible verses but let one’s content show this love by posting clean pictures of oneself at special events, keeping humour light and clean, posting things that one wouldn’t mind showing their boss. When self cleaning, take a survey of what one has posted. Delete everything that is derogatory, or what people could take offense to. (Within reason since some people will make a fuss over which way a toilet paper roll is placed on the holder.) Basically, clean out what no longer reflects one’s present spirit. This is especially important if one has encountered a spiritual renewal, returned, or decided to follow the Christian faith.

 Some posts from a year ago, may not be appropriate to keep today. Clean and delete what the spirit calls one to remove. It can be a spiritual cleaning experience. In addition, watch how one responds to threads on social media. Always keep it clean, direct but carefully worded. There is no need to stir the pot unless one feels guided to do so. Stand up for yourself as needed and report unsolicited or rude comments to the administrators of the group as needed. In addition, many companies watch social media for people’s comments or what they post, therefore it is vital to remain pleasant and kind. I’ve had to stop commenting and even delete my personal comments in some groups because the followers were rude jerks to put it mildly. I’ve even unfollowed or removed myself from some groups because the drama and impolite people I’ve seen. It is amazing how mean some people can be on social media.

Physical Spring Cleaning– Luke 11:25 states: “When it returns, it finds it swept and put in order.”[5] Every now and then, we are called to do physical cleanings of our surroundings. The most common is when one prepares for a big move, but it can happen at other times as well. Throughout my years at studying at a local university, at the end of every semester (once the marks/grades were in), I would go through my study and recycle all sorts of binders unwanted notes that weren’t necessary for the upcoming semesters. My biggest contribution to the recycling bin was something like eight garbage bags of paper that took two weeks and four houses to empty.

Cleaning out one’s physical space unclutters one’s physical area, remaps areas that weren’t working well and it frees one from unwanted stuff or other items one’s present self no longer needs. For example, if one has a spiritual encounter with God or revitalization, they might decide to change the way they dress, what they read etc. Even if it doesn’t happen, an individual’s likes and dislikes change over time. Recently I had a major cleaning spirit where I just had to do a major physical deep cleaning. I am a bit of a hoarder, a super organized one but a hoarder nonetheless, so what I am about to say was very unnatured to me but a necessity. Over a space of a couple of weeks and it is still ongoing only on a much smaller scale since the big areas are already done, I did a deep cleaning of all areas of my living space. I went through two closets and several rooms. I filled up at least eight boxes that included Legos, books (all ages), clothing, shoes, craft stuff and more. It all went to a local charity. It was a releasing experience because there were items I knew I wouldn’t use or needed so it went to other people who will use them. I firmly believe when there are items one no longer needs, as long as it is in good shape, it is important to donate to a second-hand store, or a charity one trusts or friends in need. The landfills are full enough as it is and its always a good idea to support one’s community. By cleaning and getting rid of old stuff, it makes room to breath and room for new stuff such as hobbies, new books etc. The rooms are just cleaner, less crowded and I have more room to do other activities.

Cleaning spiritually, emotionally/ psychologically, social media, and at a physical level is a continuous process. Although the physical part is more associated with the springtime, one can select any time to clean out what needs to be removed from one’s life. Colossians 3:23 states: “Whatever task you must do, work as if your soul depends on it, as for the Lord and not for humans.”[6] Remove what is unhealthy and keep living in the spirit.

[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51%3A10&version=NRSVUE

[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A1-6&version=NRSVUE

[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+3%3A5&version=NRSVUE

[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+4%3A31-32&version=NRSVUE

[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=+Luke+11%3A25&version=NRSVUE

[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3%3A23&version=NRSVUE