I like to believe that every household has a junk draw, and it is most likely in the kitchen, or at least that is where mine is located.

It’s the drawer where you put the miscellaneous things. The things that don’t have a designated place.

The drawer you shove things in when you want to do a quick cleaning, or when someone surprisingly stops by. It’s amazing what you can fit in the drawer during those moments.

The drawer you can barely close, you have to push things down in order for it to shut.

The drawer you want to avoid at all costs, and never open in front of your guests.

I inherited the junk drawer idea from my parents, and most likely those that have one can say the same or at least pass the blame.

When my husband and I bought our first home, I designated a drawer for my utensils, and without much thought or opposition, I also designated a drawer as the official junk drawer.

Every so often I conjure up the boldness and determination I need to clean the junk drawer.

I take a Jewels or Target (plastic) bag and I sift through the “junk”. 

As I move the things around, I tend to locate the bigger items first, so that I can eliminate them from the drawer.

This will make the drawer easier to open and close once I am done.

Next, I get fixated on the coins that are at the bottom of the drawer, and I start gathering them.

The junk drawer becomes a sort of treasure box, and I am digging for all the nickel and copper I can find.

At least I am getting some kind of payment for this tedious and not so exciting task.

On a good day, I accumulate enough money to buy a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks. But usually, it is enough change to buy a coffee.

I also like finding those rare gems – a prayer pin that I received 15 years ago, my student ID from Erikson Institute, and the earring that I misplaced.

By the time I finished finding the rare gems, I am pretty exhausted and annoyed by the junk drawer. Although I have a bag filled with garbage to throw away, not much damage has been done to the drawer. 

It still manages to look full.

For some reason I never get to finish the drawer.  But, I tell myself, at least, you have those coins.

Last week, the unthinkable thing happened, our junk drawer broke. It finally gave out on us.

We have neglected it for too long.

I can’t remember the last time I sifted through it.

So, what’s a girl to do, I took out all of the junk from the drawer and placed them in plastic bags.

3 bags to be exact.

Now, before you judge me, I dare you to go empty your junk drawer and see how many bags you can fill.

And for those that don’t have a junk drawer, please do share your secret in the comment sections.

(On a side note, for those of you that have had the chance of visiting my little, cozy home, you are more than welcomed to vouch in the comment section about how well kept my home is.)

Back to the drawer.

Later that day, I started sifting through the three bags. I started with my usual ritual-eliminate the big things, locate the money (got to get paid!), and find any rare gems.

I threw away a significant amount of garbage, but once again I found myself giving up,

Who likes looking through junk drawers?

And you know what, the bags are still on my kitchen table.

So now, all of our junk is sitting on the counter, and I am not liking it,

Who likes having their junk exposed? 

The broken drawer, the garbage on my counter and my procrastination to sift through the bags, reminded me of our life’s junk.

I think many of us have a junk drawer in our minds or soul. It is filled with all kinds of junk- our mistakes, our flaws, our addictions, and our unforgiveness.

Some of us have sifted through this drawer and spent time eliminating some of the junk.

But unlike our kitchen junk drawer, we tend to avoid the big things- the unforgiveness, the sins we committed, and the hurt we caused.

Instead, we take it easy on ourselves and we get rid of the little things, like the little white lie we told or the minor mistakes we’ve made along life’s path.

Some of us keep adding to the drawer, without sifting through it.

So now, our junk is pouring out of us.

We are hot-tempered, overwhelmed, full of shame, filled with sadness, or just plain exhausted from all the baggage we are storing in our minds/souls.

One day I would like to have an organized kitchen junk drawer, but then it wouldn’t be a junk drawer, would it?

But then, I remind myself that I am not perfect and that I have this thing- the junk drawer, or at least I had a junk drawer.

And that is okay, but I must maintain it.

As far as the junk drawer in our mind/soul, If we don’t start cleaning it out, by tackling some of our bigger items, we are going to get to the breaking point, like my drawer.

I challenge you to take out one of the big items in your junk drawer, take it to the throne of God, and ask Him to help you designate a new drawer for it- the forgiveness drawer, the apology drawer, the letting go drawer, the confessing drawer.

And, if you have a junk drawer in your house, go ahead and take care of that tedious task, before it is too late, and it breaks.