TIS THE SEASON TO DECLUTTER!

 TIS THE SEASON TO DECLUTTER!

Two years have flown by since I flew back from Australia on my first, and sadly last (before Covid punched us in the gut), international adventure. 

I remember vividly that, even as early as October, shopping malls had already begun decorating for Christmas and that caught me by surprise. I asked my friend why this was so and she said, " Oh Auriel, you know, people travel back to their homeland for the Christmas season and they want to take back some treats and gifts for family out there. So the Christmas shopping season has to start really early." 

Ok, I get it. Australia is now a melting pot of Indians, Sri Lankans, Papua New Guineans, Vietnamese, Fiji Indians and its rare to spot the actual native of that land on the streets. Most of these 'migrant' residents will return to their respective countries (where their roots are) to celebrate the season with family and friends. 

Well, that got me thinking about my return back to the land I will eventually have to go to when I die. HEAVEN! I HOPE!?

What preparations am I making these days to see that I reach heaven? Gotta try to aim for the sky. 

Let me draw an analogy of sorts between Christmas preparations and prepping for HEAVEN.

We do the usual external prep for Christmas which includes deep cleaning of our homes. Then we order new clothes or, if we are fortunate enough, we tailor an outfit. We make sure we look our best so the outfit must fit well and we will shop meticulously for accessories to match - shoes, tie, jewellery, bag, scarf, etc. 

We also prepare sweets and savoury foods specific to the celebration. So, the candied peels have to be chopped and drenched in alcohol for the right number of days to get a remarkable fruit cake. Those who are rookies will probably search Google for Grandma's tested recipes and try them out. 

And then there are decorations to put up, and those dusty boxes marked 'Christmas Ornaments' come out of the attic or wherever we had dumped them post-New Year. What a lot of effort we put into a celebration that lasts just a couple of weeks to a month. 

So what about ETERNITY? Are we prepared? Do we even know that we need to prepare? Do we even care that we need to prepare? 

As I begin my annual declutter to reset my home for Christmas, here are my reflections for whatever they are worth. A penny will do:)

1. The church gives me around a month to prepare for Christmas. Its called Advent. Instead of stressing about how clean my home is, how about trying to clean my thoughts and words instead? 

2. During Advent, the church encourages me to read about salvation history and that's a good way to reflect about my own salvation and plan out the best way I can become a SAINT. 

So, as I declutter my home, I declutter my vocabulary of all those insidious words that I use as arsenal on my family. And I dust away the evil thoughts that creep into my mind when I recall the deeds of those who hurt me. I hang up pretty thoughts of mercy and forgiveness instead. 

As I prepare my Christmas platter, I pay heed to sugar my words with sincere thanks and praises. I try to conjure up all the good attributes of my enemy and reconstruct his/her personality to the level that I can say, "Hey, so-and-so is not so bad after all "

As I go for my nth fitting to the seamstress, I remember to be patient with my children when they pester me for the (n+1)th time. And to hold back the nagging and grumbling and cursing and wishing for a peaceful time just as well as I hold my breath to fit into my Christmas outfit.

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Friends, this Christmas, BE PREPARED. Your turn to rise and be counted among the saints may come sooner than you think it will. Many went unprepared during the first and second wave of the pandemic that struck but we are blessed with TIME. 

LET NOT OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR SAY TO US "I never knew you." 

The difference between winning the jackpot is just one digit; the difference between heaven and purgatory/hell could be just ONE SIN.

Just for Laughs