Summer Declutter

I'm sorry I haven't blogged much this summer. Between potty-training one child and sleep-training another, taking kids to swim lessons and drum lessons, outings to the beach, the pool, the fair, and friends' houses, and lesson planning for high school (!), I haven't had time to sit down and write.

But we were home today, and so I told the kids, "It's time to clean your rooms and closets!" They groaned, of course. But there is something satisfying about throwing away useless and broken things and rediscovering hidden treasures, and seeing the finished room look tidy and organized.

Half an hour into the cleaning, my middle daughter comes to me.

"Can I have some new batteries so Emet can play with this?"

She was holding her My Little Pony remote control airplane, once so dear to her that she hid it in her closet so that her younger siblings could not get their hands on it. And now, she was willingly sharing it. Joy filled my heart to see my daughter act so lovingly. Some of it is maturity. And maybe some is wisdom. Maybe my daughter realized that what was so precious at the age of seven isn't precious now at the age of ten.

But then entered my seven-year-old. He was holding long-forgotten toys and arguing with the two-year-old because he didn't want his little brother to even look at them. Screams filled the air as I rushed to mediate. There is no convincing my seven-year-old why he should share with his brother, and maybe someday, he too will see what is most important. 

And really, don't I go through times like that too? I get impatient when the potty-training and sleep-training are not going well, because I want my time and my sleep. I grow anxious as I think about my oldest entering high school and how I'm going to make sure he does everything "right". Just the other day, I became hot and frustrated because my daughter misplaced her new goggles after only three swim lessons. I'm thinking, "What a waste of money! And she hardly used them!" instead of understanding that it is a minor thing in the light of eternity.

Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:19-21,

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So, I ask myself… where is my heart? Is it time to do some cleaning and decluttering myself?