Things are changing fast, aren't they? As we slide into summer, businesses and communities are opening back up after 20 straight-months of various levels of pandemic restrictions. We are beginning to see people with unmasked faces more regularly now, and it's both beautiful and strange isn't it? 

 The reality for many of us is, that though things are beginning to feel more like “normal” or, like we remember from our pre-pandemic life, some of us don't feel like our old selves. Our  present-day lives don't look like our old lives. We have been forever marked by what we have lived through⎻the losses we've incurred, and the grief we are still unraveling. A few of us (or maybe more than a few), are trying to figure out what we want our lives to look like on this other side. The pandemic took plenty of things from us, and perhaps, if we can take some time to reflect on what has been taken, we can identify some of the things lost that we no longer miss⎼things we didn't need then, or don't need anymore. This evaluation is good work. The Pandemic wiped our lives clear of some of the clutter we'd grown accustomed to just living with. 

 The other day on Instagram we shared this quote from the mysterious D.H. Monfleur*, that says, 

 

"Eliminate physical clutter. More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter."

It’s worth considering what “spiritual clutter” might mean specifically to our own lives. Only when we have identified and named it, can we release it. ⁣As we enter this new season of life on what is hopefully, the other side of the Pandemic, it's worth considering how exactly we want to live our lives, in light of what we've learned about our world, our communities, and ourselves. As Benedict wrote, “always, we begin again”, and so we do, and we are.
⁣

Q4U:

What does that phrase, “spiritual clutter”, mean to you? ⁣What have you learned about your faith and about God in this season that you want to hold on to? Are there beliefs you no longer hold? 

Can you receive the invitation in this idea of eliminating spiritual clutter?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans, 15:13) 

*We say, “mysterious” because on googling the name, DH Monfleur, we could find no results as to who this person/book character is/was. If you know, do tell! Regardless, the quote is a good one and definitely a catalyst for reflection. 😉