In the BBC series Sort Your Life Out families, whose homes have become so filled with possessions and clutter, that they feel overwhelmed, are helped to sort things out. Everything is removed and laid out in a huge warehouse where they are guided through the process of deciding what to keep and what to give up. It’s astonishing to see quite how much one family can accumulate, from thousands of toys to dozens of pairs of shoes and, in one case, 521 odd socks.
It strikes me that we might think of Lent as an opportunity to sort our lives out but in a different way. Over the course of time our lives fill up with clutter – bad habits, resentments, grievances, losses, and despair. If we’re not careful we may find ourselves feeling overwhelmed. Used rightly Lent is a season for self-examination, an opportunity to lay everything out before God and seek his help to sort through the clutter. In the TV series Stacey Dooley is the kindest of guides through what can be a very painful process. If we will allow him Jesus will be our guide as we look honestly at our lives and decide what we may keep and what must go.