On an icy morning in March, I decided to combine God and Marie Kondo as a means to continue healing from my past. Not a combination you ever thought you’d hear, right? Because of the way my brain is wired, I tend to think more in black and white. However, many of the ways in which I have attempted to connect with God are very gray. In adding a physical component to my prayers, I feel more connected in my relationship with God and find my interaction with Him more meaningful and genuine. That is how this God/Marie Kondo morning at Sharon Woods came to be.
Keep in mind, I have neither read Marie Kondo’s books nor watched her Netflix series, I’m just basing this on what I have surmised about her from Buzzfeed articles and an episode of Ellen wherein Kondo tidied the office of one of the show’s writers.
My favorite part of Sharon Woods: the bridge that overlooks the waterfall
Searching the icy banks of the creek at Sharon Wood for small, smooth, dry stones was no easy task. Not only did I have to contend with my own inability to balance, I also had to keep an eye out for ice and mud; two things that have caused me to lose my fight with gravity on multiple occasions.
After I had found viable rocks, I thought about the events in my past that are keeping me from complete healing. What painful events were occupying valuable space in my heart and separating me from God’s love and plan for me? Marie Kondo suggests taking an item and touching it to determine if it is worthy of keeping. Because I cannot touch the events of my past, I took one of the Sharpies I brought with me out of my pocket and began writing those events on the rock; an outward manifestation of an inward occurrence. One by one, the rocks bore the names of my pain: eating disorders, shame, sexual abuse, depression, self-harm, and anxiety.
My rocks
As I turned each rock over in my hand, I thought about everything written in stark, black sharpie; the impacts it had on my life, the emotions that accompanied them, how they shaped who I am, and how they make me feel now having had survived them. In Marie Kondo’s method, clients are asked to consider whether or not the item they are holding sparks joy, if it speaks to their heart, what they learned from the item (what it taught them), and if they want to keep or discard the item. Essentially her method boils down to choosing joy. God, too, wants us to experience joy. After speaking about the family of God, Jesus stated, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).
Kondo gives her unwanted items a proper send-off by expressing gratitude, staying goodbye and discarding them with a pinch of salt—a Japanese purification ritual. As I am not Japanese, I took a less traditional route. Over each of my rocks, I said a short prayer, gave each item to God, and then threw it into the creek. It was a very literal interpretation of 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
I’ll use the rock that said “Shame” as an example of my process:
Father, shame has taken up residence in my life for a long time. I cannot remember a time in which I didn’t feel shame about who I am or who people think I am. In constantly striving to hide my shame behind the façade of perfectionism, people-pleasing, self-destruction, and caretaking, I lost who You created me to be. Shame has corroded who I am and kept me from You. Please, help me to live without this shame. I want to return to You and to Your perfect plan for me, and I cannot do that with shame running my life. I give my shame to you.
I then used my neglected softball skills to throw each rock as far down the creek as I could. As each rock tumbled down the creek bed, I felt my shoulders becoming lighter. God was taking my burdens and freeing me from their prison; “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall” (Psalm 55:22).
Throwing rocks that no longer serve me
I encourage you to try something similar. What is weighing you down in life? What is holding you back from who God created you to be? What burden to you want to leave at the cross?
The frozen waterfall…Cincinnati winters, amirite?
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NLT)
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
RheasOfHope 