I have a two car garage that only holds one car. What does that tell you? Right! I’ve got a garage full of junk. I made a promise to myself this winter, that when Spring came, I would ruthlessly clean the garage. I’m going to throw out all the clutter of life I’ve been collecting for no real reason.
Still, every year, when I try to throw out the junk we’ve collected over time, I can’t bring my self to do it. You know the stuff. Souvenirs from vacations. Tourist trap trinkets. Old car parts, old collectibles, old stereo equipment, and plain, old stuff. I’m a tourist in life: I collect stuff along the way that really should never have been picked up in the first place.
So what do I do with all my junk? I re-arrange it. Stack it differently. Hide it behind something. I promise myself, I’m going to be unsentimental this year but every year the clutter of life just seems to grow. The evidence of being a tourist in life is never more in view it seems, than when I clean my garage.
The Psalmist says, “Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” (Ps. 84:5)
Ps. 84 calls us to the Biblical tradition of being pilgrims and not tourists. And there is a difference...and it’s a big one. A tourist goes through life collecting the kind of stuff that fills the garage. A pilgrim realizes they are on a journey, and the things they collect along the way are more baggage than blessing. Pilgrims travel light because the destination is more important than the sights along the way.
So here comes Spring. It’s time to keep my promise to myself and clean the garage. And maybe its time to approach it like a pilgrim and not like a tourist. Maybe its time to approach all of life that way.
...just thinkling.
