Article August 6, 2012 Issue

Christ-impelled thought cleaning

Going through our "thought attic" and clearing out what's no longer needed brings joy.

Lois Degler

A while back I went through my house, attic, and garage to clear out what was no longer needed. Things collect and even seem to multiply over time. (Did I really need three shovels?) So there was much that needed to be cleared away. I felt a real sense of accomplishment letting things go that were no longer of value in my life.

I realized that this same kind of clearing away is also important for our spiritual growth. Our thought-attics often need to be cleaned out, cleared of those things that have been stored away in the past and kept, taking up space despite the fact that they are not true, not productive, or not Christly. Often those “boxes” of thoughts and memories have been there so long we’re not even aware that we’ve been holding on to them. They need to be removed.

So how do we do this? We can trust that the ever-present Christ shows us what needs to be cleared away in our thinking and then enables us to do this.