(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Editor’s Note: February, 2020

By Sarah Komisky

Have you ever felt like you were up against an insurmountable task? I have. It’s not like the proverbial mountain of laundry we’ve all been familiar with at one time or another. This is bigger. It stares us in the face and demands us to act. Yet, because of its height, we either let it sit there becoming an uncomfortable friend or close the door and put it out of sight. Avoidance and procrastination never ever make good game plans.

Maybe it’s the reason culture has developed a fascination with Marie Kondo. I guess we’ve all been tired of seeing those piles and need help making sense of it all. Furthermore, I guess many of us have been recipients of that feeling when we look and see things all nice and neat and let out a sigh of relief. Somehow organization and structure make us feel just plain better. Better yet, I think all of us want someone to help us with some tips because we all need that jumpstart, that person to guide us through a project or that messy drawer that seems out of whack. Someone who will also sympathize and tell us we’ll get there and be OK!

As the new year looms ahead, it seems like decluttering is the obvious solution as publications, blogs, and Pinterest give ways you can have a cleaner new year. All of us want a tidy house and sharper organization skills this 2020 (plus don’t forget that new planner!). But what about when the clutter seems to be internal? What happens when our minds, hearts, bodies, and souls are in need of a deep cleaning? What happens when the task seems insurmountable?

The Jews felt like that in the book of Nehemiah in the Bible. After being taken away captive in a foreign land for years, the captives returned to their homeland to discover it in shambles. The project seemed daunting. Yet, Nehemiah was the guy who said yes to an impossible task. Slowly, the people started rebuilding, but at one point, they lost hope when they looked at the job that seemed endless. In Nehemiah 4:10, they said, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”

Can you relate?

Does the hurt feel too painful to deal with? The past feel too overwhelming to resurface? The task at hand too hard to accomplish? The struggle too big to gain victory over? The temptation too much to stand against?

You aren’t alone.

That’s why we want to talk about decluttering in this issue. Getting real and unpacking those overflowing and neglected boxes together.

Why?

Because, we believe hope is real and believe in a God who is the only one who enables us to declutter life, we want to welcome you to get messy. Let’s do it together! We’ll share our stories and hope they inspire you to know that you don’t have to declutter life on your own. It’s OK to not be OK. And, let’s be expectant of the good work that we believe will be accomplished. Big or small, let’s celebrate each step towards victory this month!

No pile is too big. No task too large. No pain too deep. No struggle too intense.

Let’s go to work. Welcome to the Declutter Issue.

“Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’”       

– Zechariah 4:7 (NLT)

Sarah