Throw It Away

I am about to change up my office at the church. My wife says that there is too much clutter and that I need to scale down on all the "stuff" I have displayed in there. I do admit that I do have a lot of things going on in there but for every deer head, picture, trinket, note or rare yard sale find that someone at the church gave me...there is a story.
I am not a hoarder but I am not Chip and Joanna either so my wife and I are going to have to come up with a happy medium on how it should look and I am sure that her opinion will win out as it usually does when it comes to decorating because Shelly Samples Racioppa has some mad decorating skills!
So today I thought I would start doing a little at a time by cleaning out some of my desk drawers. As I began to dig around, I found a folder full of items. I opened it and began to read and reflect on some of the incredible notes and cards I had been given by my church family over the years. My eyes teared up with joy. The next thing I knew, I had just spent and hour reading these wonderful words that meant so much to me. I placed them back in the file with a smile, feeling better about myself, my ministry and my calling as I tucked them away.
Next I found another file. I will be the first to tell you that when I opened this file, I had no idea what was in in until I looked. When I did, all of a sudden my smile that I just had from reading all of those kind, loving words immediately went away. Why you might ask? This file was not one to bring about a smile. In fact, as I began to read through it, the more upset I became. This file contained mean, hateful letters that had been written about me and others I had served with. Letters that questioned me and my integrity. Statements that were false and misinterpreted on past decisions that I along with others on the church staff had to deal with.
The more I read into these, I could feel my already medium sized headache that I woke up with turn into a major one. I did not like the way I was feeling as I read these. It brought up a lot of past hurts and pains. Things I had let go years ago now were taking over my thoughts, my mind and my day. I honestly had no idea how long I spent looking in this file but I can tell you by the way it made me feel, one second was too long.
I closed the file and began to place it back in the drawer that it came from. Then came the prodding of the Holy Spirit. I did not hear the Lord speak to me audibly at this moment as He has before, but I knew what I was then feeling in my Spirit was of Him. I felt the Lord say, I thought you were cleaning out all the stuff you don't need anymore? I thought to answer, yes I am and just then, just as if the Lord was sitting in my office I heard an audible voice say three small yet powerful words... Throw It Away...and I did!
What happened to me today was just too incredible of a moment for me not to share with you. Here is what I believe you need to know. If you are holding on to in your life a folder filled with past hurts, heartaches and letdowns from people that might or might not have been your friends...throw it away! God has done and will continue to do so much more for you and through you since those hurts occurred. Listen, if you are not careful, all the joys and remembrances of them from the past that He has given you today will be overshadowed by the hurts of yesterday. It is time for some spring cleaning so just Throw It Away!
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead...Philippians 3:13

Be Blessed...Pastor John