For some strange reason, I’ve been thinking about drawers. I think it is safe to say that every household has a drawer(s) into which they shove things that probably have no more rhyme or reason of being together than convenience – i.e., we say to ourselves, “Well, I don’t know where to put this thing and so I’ll just throw it in this drawer and sort it out later.” Of course, “later” gets later and now we have created the proverbial “junk drawer.” Full disclosure –I have two of these drawers, one in my desk and the other in the kitchen.

Now don’t get me wrong. I think drawers are a good thing. They are necessary to organize our stuff, and they also are very helpful when you want to “tidy up” quickly before guests come for dinner – like charity, they can cover up a multitude of sins and messes. When used correctly, they are good ways to bring immediate order into our life, at least when you remember what it is in them. But, those “junk drawers” will be reminders of a task needing to be done.

Would it be a stretch to consider a “junk drawer” as an image of our spiritual struggle? That is to say, where do we put the unpleasant dimensions of our hearts, those hurts, resentments, sinful habits and anxieties? Rather than facing them, don’t we put them away into our “spiritual junk drawer” to be dealt with at a later date? And when we want to “tidy up” our public persona, don’t we put away our true self from the public eye?

The wisdom of the Christian tradition is any growth in our spiritual life requires that we bring our shadow side to the light of Jesus. To respond sincerely to the Gospel invitation of repentance is to admit/confess our sins, to deflate our ego, and to humbly walk in the truth – to open up the spiritual junk drawer and by the grace of God sort things out. That process may be tedious and humbling, but it will certainly feel like a true cleaning of our hearts.

-Fr. Dennis Lynch