Not My Job

My 90-year-old mother has always been meticulous about order in her home, and I am thankful. She knows her time to pass from this earth will come sooner or later and she has been slowly but surely giving many of her old clothes away so that when her time comes, I won’t have so much to deal with. So many of my friends have had a LOT of clutter to deal with when their parents passed. And of course, so often adult children have to help their parents get rid of a lifetime of accumulated treasures when the move to a care facility becomes necessary. Those situations demand patience and kindness.

All too often, though, we are overeager to push someone to clean up the clutter in their homes…or in their lives. We may be ready, but they are not. Those “treasures” being clung to might be knickknacks, paraphernalia from a hobby, old letters, or ancient magazines. Or they might be old ways of thinking, a cherished sin, or unforgiveness. We can see so clearly the need to “just get rid of it,” but they need to be ready. It is not our job. So, what can we do? We can offer a helping hand if and when the time comes that they are prepared to let go. We can pray for them to hear the Holy Spirit when it is time. And we can love them in spite of the mess, because Jesus loves us unconditionally in spite of our own!