Junk drawers.
We all have them. Some of us may even have two or three, but we all have at least one.
Things you can find in a junk drawer
Pencils and pens, measuring tape, gum, scissors, thumbtacks, hammers, old thank-you cards, Christmas pictures from 98', Taco Bell hot sauce packets, napkins, 3-year-old candies, party balloons... you name it, you can find it.
But why do we hold onto these silly knick-knacks? Of course, we may need these items one day, but not today, so we throw everything in one pile. We know those things are there, but it is like buried treasure every time we search for something new. We find something we lost or something we forgot we lost. Although a million, random things are crammed inside a drawer, everything seems to have a place.
However, what are some things you can throw away and make room for? Do you really need those outdated hot sauce packets and old candies? Can you think of any other place for a better fit for thumb tacks and a hammer?
What does this say about our hearts? Do we have junk we need to get rid of? Are we holding onto things that are inconsequential? What burdens do we have floating around?
Toss. It. Out.
If there is something taking up a possible home for something that actually matters by something that has no significance, you may need to re-evaluate what you are holding onto.
Is there a hidden bitterness towards a friend that may have let you down in the distant past? Are you hurting because someone told you lies about yourself that you know are not true but somehow believed to be? Is there any junk that needs to be thrown out?
Or are you filled with joy?
If so, then you will always have room for more. And then some more. And then some...
See, joy is what our hearts long for but somehow, our hearts seem to get caught up on the little things that do not matter. When we have joy in our hearts, there is room to grow. It expands.
When we allow our hearts to grow cold, we stop growing. There is no fruit or gradual process for more. It stops working like it should. Everything shuts down, and we sink into an endless spiral pit of abandonment, loneliness, and fear.
But Christ told us to take heart!
"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33
We may start to become bogged down by the sorrows of the world, but that does not mean we have to revolve our entire beings around this. We are made for more.
You are made for a purpose.
Your heart is the central focus, and your veins are your receptors. Your heart does not have to be 'junky'. Christ has renewed us. He has turned our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh when we became one with Him. Does your heart receive this? You do not have to find bits and pieces of brokenness, abandonment or bitterness. Dump out your baggage and fill yourself with Joy.
How will you clean out the junk drawer of your heart so that the only bottomless pit you find yourself in is the outpour and overpour of joy flowing through your veins?
