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Craving Connection


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IMG_5226Our church is embarking on a capital campaign to build an addition to our facilities.  The consultant we hired to help us shared a survey concluding that one out of three people have no one in whom they can confide.  She then made an interesting statement:  “People used to go to church to find God.  Today they go to church to find community.”

On a recent flight from Raleigh to Tampa. I couldn’t help overhearing a conversation between my two seat mates: one, a stay-at-home mom for nearly 20 years, and the other, a seasoned male executive. She asked him a question about where he was going. What followed was a nearly two-hour conversation.  She said only a few words.

He shared in great detail stories about his business and financial successes, sprinkled with references to the numerous physical possessions and world travels he had provided for his family.  He also shared his sadness about several family members who were in various states of dysfunction. I couldn’t help wondering if he had ever shared those stories with anyone else, or if all those possessions resulted in physical — and perhaps emotional — clutter that prevented a true connection with the people he loved.

 

Emotional Clutter Revealed

image2I’ve always said that I teach what I need to learn. From K-8 grades, I went to a one room school where I was bullied. Whenever it was recess and we were playing games, I was the last one to be “chosen.” When I graduated from college with honors, my diploma wasn’t signed because I hadn’t finished my physical education requirements.

Recently I started working privately with a physical therapist. Today I went to class with other patients. In the past I have been afraid to go to any class that involved physical activity because I was afraid that I would be the worst student. To my amazement, I wasn’t!

My emotional clutter has been thinking that I would look stupid if I tried to exercise with other people. The Bible says that the sin that God most hates is pride, and I realized that my pride has prevented me from moving forward. The truth is that I might look uncoordinated, but so what? I’m tired of being stuck in my own emotional clutter. What is yours?