We take time in Advent to make room in our lives for God to be reborn in our lives; we explore the spirituality of making room for the Christ.

Why does the Holy Spirit need more room to move? Our homes and work spaces, our phones and our desks get filled with so many things – many are sacred and important reminders of our values (pictures of important people, calendars reminding us of our next gathering with friends). Many things only remind us of things we should do (books to read, clothes to make fit again, gifts we should not re-gift/donate).

What if everything in your living space was either a tool you use on a regular basis (calendar, utensils) or an object that brings you joy (a game you play, a picture of great people and memories, clothes that keep you warm)? What if there were blank walls and surfaces to allow for you to daydream instead of dust? What if there were “booked blank spaces” on your calendar (for prayer, a walk, a nap, a stretch)?

For example, do we value our bedrooms as places of sacred prayer, love and rest? The things in your bedroom that brings about worry, anxiety or stress (laundry, electronics) can be stored elsewhere. The family room may need to be voided of all screens to encourage conversations or it may need to have all the screens in it to free the dining room of them! If an office for work or school is in your home, can its door be closed one day a week to prevent spitting off our attention from our other valued activities?

How will you make space for the Spirit in 2019?

I would like you to consider doing a practice in 2019 of emptying the physical places you live and work to make room for the Spirit, and the living out of your values and passions. Here are a few resources to help you use the secular practices of “decluttering” and “minimalism” as spiritual practices of making room for Christ.
Joshua Becker, one of the editors of Becoming Minimalist website, writes that “the goal of minimalism is to be freed to pursue our greatest passions.” So while you can use specific quantitative goals (my favorite is removal of 40 bags of stuff in 40 days of Lent (recycle, donate or garbage bags) the main goal is qualitative. It is the subjective and personal sense that all your spaces are focused on your values.

May you explore what you have that brings you joy and hope. May you be free to give away all that does not!