Now that Mother’s Day is over this year, I’m totally confessing: when my kids aren’t home, I throw away their handmade crafts.
I know, the kids would take away the flowers and cards from Mother’s Day if they knew.
But really, I just know if you’re a mom, you do this too. There’s no organization system on Pinterest that could keep up.
Your kids spend hours with paper, scissors and glue and if you’re a really nice mom, glitter, and produce something…sparkly. It really is of no practical or even decorative use but it was a great creative moment.
But then, it’s time to clean up.
You ask if you can throw it away and they’re all NO, I love that random paper plate with all the glitter on it.
I get it, I suppose. They spent a lot of creative and physical energy on it so it’s hard to give up.
And what about all the kids meal toys they’re collecting?
Can I throw away this 3” cow from Chick-fil-a because you have like 14 others?
No, do not throw it away, Mom! I got that from Chick-fil-a. I neeed it.
Really, children?
You’re not THAT mean of a mom so you don’t throw it away in front of them. But we all know–they don’t need any of it.
So, if you’re like me, you wait until they’re out of the house. You gather all the glittered paper and 3” cow. You walk out to your dumpster and and hide them at the bottom, being careful to cover up the evidence in case they take out the trash and find it. You do this don’t you? Don’t YOU??
If you’re not doing this, you totally should.
The other day it was one of those days. I found myself alone and in prime-time for clearing out.
I grabbed a garbage bag and went to town. I finished up and headed out to the dumpster.
On the way through the kitchen to the garage, God whispered. He said sometimes he clears out stuff His children don’t need too.
It’s the things that you want so bad—those things you feel like you neeed. Many times we want to hold on to that thing because we’ve invested a lot of time or energy into it. We just can’t imagine it not being a part of our lives.
But he knows you really don’t need them and you’re better off without them. Sure, they’re probably sparkly—perhaps they’re beautiful or they look fun from the outside but He knows they lead to nowhere.
Or maybe, they were just fine in the moment and served its purpose but we’ve let it stay around too long.
I can think back to times God has done this to me with a person, a TV show, a book, or even food. It’s hurt in the moment to watch it go but in the end, my life is better.
I’ve come to realize God isn’t ok with letting us settle for junk.
He moves us to a place of letting go and throwing away. We might kick and scream when we figure out what he’s doing but in the end, we’re better off.
Has God ever pruned something from your life like that? Does He need to?
I totally do this with all the coloring pages that get sent home from Mother’s Day Out. Really? Do I need all those apples with the red (and sometimes yellow or green) 3-year-old scribblings? Sometimes, there are masterpieces and I hang up the rare jewels in my office or on his bedroom door. But mostly, I trash them when he isn’t looking. I think a younger version of me wouldn’t have done this, but little-by-little over the years, God has had me purge the clutter in my life, both in physical form and the internal stuff we can’t see. And I’m really thankful I am at that place, despite the hard stuff I’ve had to go through to get here. Great post!
Leann recently posted…Winner-Winner-Chicken-Dinner
Glad you do this too…school papers are out of control. In fact, let’s just not talk about paper in general!
What a great analogy! I can’t deal with clutter so I throw away things constantly. In fact, I’ve found my kids hoarding things on their beds because they know if it’s on the floor it will be gone when they come home from school – and I agree school papers are so annoying. I don’t understand why everything can’t just come electronically – then I might be able to actually find it should I need it’s information. As far as “life” stuff goes, I’ve learned that, just like all those cluttered papers, when my life starts to feel chaotic and overwhelmed, there is usually something in me God is ready to clean out. Love this post!
I have a hoarder tendency when it comes to paper and books–ok, with just about anything. I might need it at some point!
I also “hoard” when it comes to life stuff–I want to do it all and all at once.
Both sides of this is a lesson for me too.