What is a cluttered heart?  Clutter meaning:  cover or fill (something) with an untidy collection of things—Oxford dictionary.  Cluttering of the heart would fill our hearts with things such as unresolved issues, situations or stuff not taken care of or circumstances that are overwhelming.

How do we get to such a place?  One of the following areas or all may bring about a cluttered heart.

 

·         Too busy schedule

·         Work overload

·         Demanding family life

·         Relationship conflict

 

All the above justify feelings of being overwhelmed, overburdened and cluttered.  For me personally, I know the signs of a cluttered heart, as I have been there so often.  For the past eight years, I have paid careful attention to these “little foxes” that can spoil my vine. 

 

Looking at the four points above, I find relationship conflict to be the biggest offender, causing a cluttered heart.  An unresolved issue or conflict between people, always result in a great inner turmoil.  I don´t know about you, but for me it is.  Relationships is a soft and easy target, and we all fall prey to it, almost daily.  This can happen in marriage, family or work environment.  Most cases, an exchange of words take place and we interpret the exchange of words or body language; as either positive or negative.  Taking into consideration the state of mind we might find ourselves in at that moment, will cause a certain reaction.  By the end of the day, we are bombarded with many not so good thoughts, leaving us with unsettling feelings.  Add to that, the uncompleted tasks, which was on our priority list for the day.  As we make our way home, after a long day, the thoughts of having to change gears, from work to family can both be joyful and of anticipation. 

 

We step into our “safe environment”, our home, just to be confronted with the demands of family life. How do we transition our shift gears effectively in such a way that our family does not become the victims of our bad day?

 

 

How about, we practice building in reflection time every day before we enter our safe environment?  If you have mastered the trick to shift gears from work to the family effectively, without having a spillover of the day into your family life—well done!  Yet finding the time to reflect and to unclutter our hearts daily is still very important for our spiritual and emotional wellness.

 

A cluttered heart causes stress and in most cases sub-conscious stress.  Causes which we are often not aware of.  This may cause sickness as well as affecting our family and other relationships.  This may also bring about a disconnect between us and God.

Here are some ideas which have helped me to unclutter my heart daily.

 

·         Find the time before going to bed to reflect about your day. 

·         Sensing an unsettling feeling—pray about it—bring to God.

·         Repent if you need to—about your behavior, etc. 

·         Forgive others if you need to and release

·         Commit your night's rest to God

·         Should you find the next day that there is still something bothering you;

·         Bring it before God again and surrender the matter to Him to resolve

·         Apologize to the person/s involved if need be.

 

Through this very useful exercise, I have cultivated a habit, to throughout the day, reflect and look inwardly to sense, what is in my heart, and the attitude of my heart.  

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Prov. 4v23 (NIV)