My husband, Phil, and I never take it for granted the sheer joy and privilege we have had over the course of our marriage to be able to travel. As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina and in a month I will be in Singapore. Our home is filled with various art and objects that we have collected over the years from around the world. I take great joy as I pass from room to room in my home and remember past trips and experiences associated with each one and the great conversation starters they have been at various events and parties we’ve had over the years.
Recently I was cleaning out my office and I found a dried and mounted Piranha fish that Phil had brought back when he had done some filming up the Amazon River years ago. It was in a plastic zip lock bag and it was moldy and nasty, although the teeth were still intact. I decided, no matter how cool and interesting it had been when Phil brought it home, it was time to toss it as it was now just cluttering up my office.
Our lives are a collection of memories and recollections of our past that shaped and defined who we are today.
Many times we bring stuff into our lives that is interesting and has meaning to us at the time. It all adds a certain amount of dimension, and uniqueness to our lives. But it’s important to clean house occasionally and throw out the old junk that is keeping us from moving forward and cluttering up our lives and our future.
Examine the stuff that you once thought important and determine if it’s still a treasured object or a dried up old fish.
Recollection, according to the dictionary, means “to bring back to a level of conscious awareness – to remember or to remind (oneself) of something temporarily forgotten.” Take some time to look back and reflect on those moments in your life’s journey that were defining. Then, clear out the meaningless clutter and distractions that keep getting in your way of moving you forward. Dust off, revisit, and refresh the worthwhile experiences, choices, and decisions that got you where you are today and take note of why they continue to be important in your life.
Finally, determine to spend more of your time on those experiences, choices, and interests that matter and have a future.
Does it really matter who wins or loses on that reality TV show? Do you really need to spend hours online searching for more shoes and purses to make your life meaningful? Are you wasting time on clutter and being distracted from what God has set before you? Keep those aspects of your life that continue to shape and define you as an interesting, thoughtful, intelligent person and focus spending time on things that are really going to last and matter. Other’s will be attracted to you and find you worthwhile when you collect interesting information, convey meaningful thoughts, and share cultural experiences and interests and your journey of faith.
Psalms 139:14 NLT “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it.”
