Day Eighty-one; Footnotes of Clearing Away the Clutter

My back is hurting badly….and I’m just getting started.

I started raking and clearing away everything that winter and stray cats have done to my yard last Saturday. (3.19.22) I worked for the better part of the day Saturday moving old wood from beside the house to the hill back behind the house.  I wish I could have gotten it further down the hill but since I was hauling it on that small garden cart I was limited in how far I could go. While I was working I also raked around the wood so to help me see what may be lurking among the rotting wood. Thankfully nothing but a few insects were uncovered. Even though I worked for hours, I didn’t finish.

Sunday was a rest day. It was my day to assist in the nursery at church. Two year old children are always a joy to be around. The rest of the day was basically just taking it easy.

Monday I started again. I managed to get the rest of the old wood cleared away, stacking anything usable as I went. I then began raking. Where I was raking had flowers coming up so mulching was out of the question. I had gotten a fair amount done when I received a phone call from my son. They were so busy he didn’t have time to stop for lunch. Mom to the rescue. I delivered lunch and then returned home to begin again with the raking. I wanted to get the leaves cleared out from around the bushes that grown along the fence down the side of my driveway. Part of me wanted to quit, the stronger part wanted to finish. The stronger side won.

I stopped for a while. After my son came in from work and told me he wasn’t hungry yet, I went back outside. I managed to get a small section of the backyard raked before my son decided that he was a bit hungry. I finished the row I was making, adding the leaves to the small mountain range of leaves running along the edge of my backyard. They are doing a really good job of covering the wood chunks that I couldn’t get further down the hill.

While I was clearing the leaves away from around my bushes, I managed to uncover two different worm snakes. I grabbed the first one and managed to get a couple of photos before releasing it away from where I was raking. When I uncovered the second one I simply caught it, relocated it away from where I was working and went back to raking.

My yard is looking so much better.

It does have me thinking though, what do we find within ourselves, when we clear away the clutter that has collected in our life? There are some things that we can clear away on our own. The excess of material things that have no purpose, and the desire for more stuff for example.

There are things though, that we can’t do on our own. If we have issues and problems with our health, then it is important to seek out the medical professional that can handle what we are dealing with. Whether it is physical or mental issues, there is no shame in seeking help.

Then, there are issues where the one best to seek out, is Jesus the Christ. He is the One who could show us how or even deal with what is troubling us. Sometimes, those answers come quickly. Before I had left the abusive marriage I was in before I met my now late husband, I had become a heavy drinker. Not because I enjoyed it or was fully addicted, but because when I was drinking, he left me alone. On a bus somewhere between Lake Charles, LA and Charlotte, NC God removed any desire to drink. I am now thirty-nine years sober. Not everything will be handled in that manner though. I am now five years into being a widow and though much better, I still have struggles. Part of the problem is my not fully letting go, thinking I can do it myself.  That I think is a big part of the problem, we think we can do it our self. Which usually means we deal with things much longer than we would if we simply let go and let God.

When we do release the clutter in our life to Him, we can see a big difference. In who we are, and what we are. We see our abilities and possibilities. We see a much more clear road before us. We also know that no matter what we find along the way, we are not alone in our struggles. He goes with us, always.

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