Newsletter March 2007
SPRING CLEANING
I know it seems hard to believe but spring is really just around
the corner. The Iditarod will start in a few days and on March
11, it will be time to turn our clocks ahead an hour for daylight
savings time.
When I was a kid growing up in a little logging and farming town
in Washington, there were several things that I always enjoyed
about the coming of spring. First of course was that it meant
that summer vacation wasn’t very far away. Beside that though,
I looked forward to the opening of trout fishing season in both
the lakes and small streams and the beginning of baseball season.
Another annual rite of spring was the yearly “clean up day”
that our little town had that usually got almost all of the 400
residents involved in one way or another. Folks would pile anything
they wanted hauled to the dump out along the street and a crew
of us would come by in an old stripped down fire truck, load their
junk up and haul it away. For older or disabled folks, other crews
of young people would volunteer to go into their garages or back
yards and haul the heavy or bulky things out to the street for
them. In all, it gave us a terrific sense of belonging to a neat
little town. The whole thing was wrapped up in the afternoon with
a weenie roast at the old city park near our house where the old
timers would sit and swap yarns while us youngsters would play
games among the huge cedar trees. I miss those days.
I think in a spiritual sense, we also occasionally need to have
“spring cleaning” days in our lives now and then.
It is good to take inventory occasionally and see if there are
things that clutter up our lives and toss ‘em. Hebrews 12:1
refers to these things as the sins and weights that so easily
beset us. Things like old grudges, bitterness or harmful habits
need to be hauled to the dump and exchanged for a clear conscience
and unhindered relationships.
Some things we may find in our lives might be good to give away
to others. Things like a little bit of time we could offer to
help someone in need or a gift we haven’t used in a long
time. Bags of stored up kindness or forgiveness should be put
in the “give away” pile because they are of little
use sitting unused in the storage closet of our lives. Other stuff,
like toxic attitudes or moldy old gossip shouldn’t be shared
with anyone but should be put in the burn barrel never to be seen
or heard of again.
If you come across a box of old memory tapes, take some time
to cherish and remember those who comprise the various pieces
of cloth in the quilt of your life. If they are still living,
a letter or “I was just thinking of you” call might
be just the ticket. Be careful while rummaging through that old
box of tapes if you come across some footage of your
darkest days or failures. It might be best not to replay those.
And, if you come across an old photo album capturing the days
when you first came to Jesus and were so “lit up”
with excitement and love for him…It might be an afternoon
well spent talking with him and renewing that first love that
may have dimmed a bit.
So, have fun with your spring cleaning this year. It can be a
life-changing adventure.
Wayne Coggins
Cornerstone Family Ministries
