I stared out the window as tiny flakes of ash fell from a smoky sky. Living in California, you become accustomed to fire season, but this fire was getting too close to home. My reverie was disrupted by the ding of my phone. It was a text update about local evacuations. While we were not ordered to evacuate, we were told to be prepared, just in case.
I looked around the room. What items should I pack? I gathered essentials and prayed that the fire would be stopped. Thankfully, it eventually was, and we were safe to stay in our home once again. As I put away the items I had packed, I looked around the room at all the things I was prepared to leave behind.
Suddenly the room looked cluttered and stifling. Why was I holding on to all this excess stuff that made my house feel like a big mess? I grabbed a box and started emptying shelves and drawers, making more room for the things that really mattered.
As I was simplifying my house, I recalled the words a priest recently told me during Confession: “Ask God to give you the grace of simplicity. Whatever is distracting you from living a life filled with God, put it aside.” It seemed that God was simplifying my life physically and spiritually. As I opened myself up to the Holy Spirit, He was revealing to me the things I didn’t need in my life and in my heart.
Just as Jesus cast out the people who made the temple a den of thieves (Luke 19:45), the Lord is challenging me to rid my heart of the things that are stealing my peace and keeping me from drawing closer to Him.
Today let’s cast out the lies, the negativity, the harmful things—attitudes, acts, people—that keep us from being a holy temple of God.
Consider joining us in this year's Advent journal, a book that will deepen your understanding of Who Jesus is in His simplicity.
Bobbi Rol is a wife, mama, and blogger living on the Monterey Bay in California with her husband, teen daughter, and three rambunctious boys. When she is not dodging light sabers, she can be found outside with her family, catching a late night movie or decorating her planner. She was a contributing author to And Hay Became Holy and our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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