A Cluttered Life

By Gaby Smith

Every spring and fall, I clean out my closet of clothes I don’t wear anymore. I make my son do the same thing. My mother taught me this as a child, so it was instilled in my brain forever.

As I packed up my house to move, it dawned on me how much stuff has been unused for years and how much we don’t need certain things anymore. Over the years, we’ve just accumulated “stuff” that we thought we needed.

Just going through my son’s closet, landed us with eight … that’s right – EIGHT – trash bags full of things. We went through toys, books and clothes he didn’t fit anymore.

I realized that my tiny house was accumulating enough for two homes. It reminded me of the sacrament of reconciliation. The trash bags are like our sins. We can have one, two, five or eight bags full of stuff we just need to get rid of. Throwing them away down the trash chute is good for our home and ourselves, just like when the priest absolves us of our sins.

While I recommend going to confession regularly and not seasonally (like cleaning out my closet), this is a great way to show how God can work in our lives.

So, if you’re doing a bit of spring cleaning this year, stop by the confessional and do some spring cleaning on your soul. It’s a great way to have a new perspective on life and your faith, just like a clean home gives you a new sense of confidence.