Pastor Mark Hopper

Pastor Mark Hopper

Spring cleaning usually happens in March or April. But, it happened at our house in the middle of November! Maybe we should call it “fall” cleaning?

There are several lessons that I learned while we were cleaning out the garage. The first lesson was that you have to start! My wife and I had talked about cleaning the garage many times, but this time we finally did it. Sometimes the hardest part of any job is getting started!

Another lesson I learned was that we tend to keep things we really don’t need any more.

As we cleared off some shelves and reorganized some different things, we both asked each other, “Do you know why we have saved this?” Sometimes we even asked, “Do you know what this is or what it belongs to?”

At the same time, I was glad to find some things that we had saved and I had not been able to find. There were several tools and other items that we discovered hidden behind boxes or covered up by other stuff. Nice to find some things that we thought were lost.

I think any cleaning project goes better if you do them with other people. It is harder to get motivated when you are working alone. There is something about working together with other people that keeps you going.  And, the conversation makes it more fun, too.

One slogan that we have used is, “When in doubt…throw it out”. My wife said, “Sometimes, you just have to let it go”.  It can be hard to throw some things away, but sometimes we have to make the tough decisions. And, some things can be recycled, too.

This may not be the time of year for “spring cleaning” but it might just be the right time for you to tackle a cluttered closet or maybe even the two-car garage. Find a friend and get started. You will be glad you did!

Pastor Mark Hopper is from the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar, 3255 South Diamond Bar Ave. Sunday services are 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. For more information, call (909) 594-7604 or visit http://www.efreedb.org.