Holding On & Letting Go

Just one look at my junk drawer and you’ll see that I clearly have a problem with letting go.

This tendency to hold on started in childhood. I didn’t want to discard old toys, even if pieces were missing. I had hopes I would find those missing pieces someday. You just never know.

In adulthood, that tendency to hold on presents certain complexities. For my junk drawer, it means I have trouble closing it completely. In my personal life, it means my head and heart overflow with strong and often contradictory emotions and thoughts.

Here are some of the signs I encounter when it’s time to declutter my life:

• I am upset, but I can’t pinpoint why.

• I am easily irritated.

• I am grouchy.

Actually, the list is much longer than that, but I will spare you those details. The whole holding and letting go dance is just one of the reasons I joined up with mother-daughter writing duo (Rhonda Rhea and Kaley Rhea) to write the book, Messy to Meaningful. We all shared the struggle of “messy” and the desire to sort through life and find the meaningful.

That struggle is not unique. Life comes at all of us at a frantic pace. We juggle car pools, school, work, life groups, church and — well, you fill in the next blank because the list is endless.

With all that juggling, of course, we drop a few balls. We get thrown a few curve balls. It’s not easy. It can be messy. With God’s help and a community of supportive friends, we find can perspective and meaning.

I put together a 7-Day Declutter Your Life Challenge to help us get started on our Messy to Meaningful journey. The challenge is easy to follow and understand. It’s also my gift to you.

Let’s get started on this challenge. I’d love to hear how the challenge goes for you. What day was your favorite part of the challenge and why?

Click and slide worksheet to desktop to download a printable copy.