{"id":39455,"date":"2026-05-01T17:56:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T17:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/?p=39455"},"modified":"2026-05-01T17:56:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T17:56:24","slug":"christian-minimalism-how-clearing-clutter-can-deepen-your-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/christian-minimalism-how-clearing-clutter-can-deepen-your-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Minimalism: How Clearing Clutter Can Deepen Your Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every morning, I sit at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and take a deep breath of gratitude<\/a>. I look around at the open, airy spaces. The clean counters and floors. Even with a full house\u2014Justin and I have five chil\u00addren\u2014there\u2019s no mess, no clutter. Ev\u00aderything has breathing room, especial\u00adly me.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not because I\u2019m an amazing housekeeper or a perfect wife and mom. I feel at peace because our house wasn\u2019t always like this\u2026. I <\/em>wasn\u2019t always like this. It took getting rid of 75 percent of our belongings. And more important, letting go of what was cluttering my soul<\/a> so I could clear space for God.<\/p>\n

I grew up in small-town Pella, Iowa. My mom stayed home with my two brothers and me, and my dad worked in window sales. I had a great child\u00adhood\u2014faith and family<\/a> were every\u00adthing\u2014but my parents didn\u2019t have the budget for extras.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where my maternal grandmother came in. She called me her favorite granddaughter and spoiled me like crazy. \u201cIs that my Julia Ann?\u201d she\u2019d say when she saw me. I\u2019d squeal with delight as she hand\u00aded me a new doll or toy. In my teens, we grew even closer. We\u2019d stroll the malls for hours, and Grandma would buy me special gifts. \u201cJust making sure you don\u2019t want for anything,\u201d she said. Accumulating possessions made me feel secure and cared for. More stuff equaled more happiness.<\/p>\n

That mindset stayed with me when I went to college, though the shopping trips were curtailed. My senior year at William Jewell College in Missouri, where I played on the softball team<\/a>, I met Justin, another senior. He played baseball, and we clicked. Like me, Jus\u00adtin was big on faith and church.<\/p>\n

A few months after graduation, Grandma passed away. I was inconsol\u00adable.<\/a> Too hurt to turn to God. Instead, I hit the mall. I signed up for my first credit card. What my entry-level job couldn\u2019t cover, my credit card could. To numb my grief, I\u2019d buy things Grandma would\u2019ve wanted and linger in stores, trying to catch a whiff of her favorite Elizabeth Tay\u00adlor perfume. Shopping was a dopamine rush. A ban\u00addage for my broken heart.<\/p>\n

Justin and I got married three years after college. He had a demanding job in in\u00adsurance, and I got my mas\u00adter\u2019s, then worked full-time as a speech pathologist. My dream, though, was to be a stay-at-home mom. We made good money, and once we had our first daughter, Eva, there was more to acquire: baby clothes and gear, nurs\u00adery furniture, toys. Just as I\u2019d done while grieving Grandma, anytime I had intense feelings\u2014frustration over work, anxiety about being a first-time mom\u2014I buried them with spending.<\/p>\n

At church on Sundays, I was dis\u00adtracted by other women\u2019s outfits. I\u2019d see things I thought I needed\u2014a silky blouse, elegant earrings, a trendy purse. Then I\u2019d spend the entire service thinking about how to find a good deal on a similar item. Sometimes we\u2019d even go shopping after church. Our house ex\u00adploded with stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a big credit-card bill to pay,\u201d Justin said once. \u201cKnow what we spent online last month?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to know,\u201d I said. The numbers gave me anxiety. That\u2019s why Justin took care of the bills. We kept making the minimum payments and buying\u2014more toys, more clothes, more everything. <\/em>I took Eva to Walmart every week, and I loved seeing her eyes light up at the displays of new toys.<\/p>\n

Seven months after our second daughter, Elena, was born, I left my job to become a stay-at-home mom. My dream. Yet instead of contentment, I felt distracted and overwhelmed. I couldn\u2019t seem to manage all the stuff in our house, no matter how hard I tried.<\/p>\n

I mentioned to my ob-gyn that I was stressed<\/a>, and he wrote me a prescrip\u00adtion for an antidepressant, saying that I had postpartum depression. I didn\u2019t take the medication. Deep down, I knew my problem wasn\u2019t depression. Our debt, which had ballooned to $40,000, weighed on me. I\u2019d spend to mask my anxiety, which led to more debt, more anxiety. A vicious cycle.<\/p>\n

I started seeing a therapist for my anxiety but was too embarrassed to admit to her how much debt we had. And I was too ashamed to tell Justin how overwhelmed I felt. Most of all, I was too ashamed to talk to God.<\/p>\n

One morning while Eva was at pre\u00adschool, I sat in the nursery feeding Elena. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating everything in the room. An unused crib filled to the brim with baby clothes. A jumble of plastic light-up toys. Rolls of wrapping paper. Justin\u2019s golf clubs in the corner. A tangled Slinky. So much stuff.<\/a><\/p>\n

It set my nerves on edge. Instantly I felt guilty. Why couldn\u2019t I just be happy? I had everything I\u2019d ever want\u00aded. A loving marriage, two beautiful daughters, this big house filled with nice things. But staring at the mess, I couldn\u2019t hold my feelings in. \u201cThis isn\u2019t what I signed up for!\u201d I shouted, my voice echoing against the nursery walls. \u201cSomething needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

I turned away from the chaos. That\u2019s when I spotted a Bible on the night\u00adstand. I flipped it open. Something in Luke, chapter 12,<\/a> jumped out at me: Jesus told a crowd, \u201cOne\u2019s life does not consist of possessions,\u201d then spoke of being \u201crich in what matters to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did I even know what mattered to God? When had I last actually talked to him? Clearly, I had a lot to think about.<\/p>\n

Two days later, I had another thera\u00adpy appointment. I dropped off Eva at preschool and brought Elena with me, her diaper bag slung over my shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m deep in debt and beyond over\u00adwhelmed<\/a>,\u201d I confessed. \u201cI want a better life for our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

My therapist looked at the diaper bag, jam-packed with extra clothes, snacks and toys. \u201cJulia,\u201d she said, \u201chave you ever heard of minimalism?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, like houses with stark white walls and nothing in them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than that. Look into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the car, I googled minimalism. \u201cIf your possessions aren\u2019t used or loved, let them go,\u201d one article read. \u201cMini\u00admalism is really about making room for God and realigning your heart with what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

There it was again. What matters\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should try minimalism,\u201d I told Justin when he got home.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to try what<\/em>?\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cJulia, you love shopping!\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t blame Justin for laughing. I hadn\u2019t been honest with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never brought this up because I was too ashamed,\u201d I said. \u201cYou work so hard to provide us with nice things, but all our stuff is causing me horrible anxiety<\/a>. I\u2019m distracted from you, from the kids\u2026from God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justin was quiet for a moment. \u201cI see what you mean,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got\u00adten caught up in consumerism and let what\u2019s important fall away. If you want to give minimalism a go, I\u2019m all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d read that it was best to start off in a small space. The next day, I tackled the kitchen junk drawer. Here goes, <\/em>I thought, pulling it open. Papers and sticky notes spilled out. Immediately, I wanted to hop on Amazon and click \u201cadd to cart\u201d on something, just to get a rush. No more stuff! <\/em>I told myself. Little by little, I cleared that drawer\u2014 throwing away old receipts and flyers, putting pens in a holder on the coun\u00adter. It felt good. But the thought of doing that to every space<\/a> was paralyzing.<\/p>\n

Eva came up to me, her arms full of clothes, blankets and costume jewelry. I handed her a small bag, and we went to her room. \u201cSome kids don\u2019t have any toys. Do you have anything you\u2019d like to give them?\u201d She nodded and put stuffed animals and puzzles into the bag. Her room felt lighter; I did too.<\/p>\n

That gave me the momentum to de\u00adclutter other rooms. If we didn\u2019t use an item, I put it in a donation bin. Over the next few weeks, the energy in the house shifted. I realized I hadn\u2019t gone shopping other than for groceries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much calmer in here,\u201d Jus\u00adtin said, coming into the kitchen one morning to say goodbye before work.<\/p>\n

Our house was <\/em>calmer, but some\u00adthing inside me still felt restless. Maybe I needed to work on my inner clutter too. Opening up to my therapist and my husband was a start. Where to go from there?<\/p>\n

Now that my kitchen table was clear, I had an idea. I sat down with a cup of coffee and imagined Jesus sitting right there, across from me. Lord, I\u2019m sorry I lost sight of you amid all the stuff, <\/em>I prayed. Help make more room for you<\/a>, in my home and in my heart. <\/em><\/p>\n

A verse I remembered from church came to mind. Genesis 28:16. \u201cWhen Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, \u2018Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d been too busy burying my emo\u00adtions in shopping to be aware of God\u2019s presence<\/a>, surrounding myself with pos\u00adsessions so I could feel taken care of. Yet even when I turned away from him, God watched over me. I took a deep breath and said, \u201cThank you, Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kitchen table chats with Jesus be\u00adcame my new morning routine<\/a>. On Sundays, I listened to our pastor\u2019s sermon instead of checking out other women\u2019s outfits. Day by day, my desire to buy more gave way to a gratefulness for what I already had.<\/p>\n

Over the course of a year, 75 percent of our possessions went packing, along with thousands of dollars of debt. Sev\u00aden years later, we\u2019re still living mini\u00admally, in a new, smaller home.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I take time every morning to look around and take a deep breath of gratitude<\/a>. It reminds me that not only am I rich in what matters but I also have room <\/em>for what matters. For my husband, our children and the One who truly takes care of all our needs.<\/em><\/p>\n

Julia Ubbenga is the author of<\/em> Declutter Your Heart and Your Home: How a Minimalist Life Yields Maximum Joy (2025, Zondervan)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every morning, I sit at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and take a deep breath of gratitude. I look around at the open, airy spaces. The clean counters and floors. Even with a full house\u2014Justin and I have five chil\u00addren\u2014there\u2019s no mess, no clutter. Ev\u00aderything has breathing room, especial\u00adly me. It\u2019s not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":39460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[192,136],"tags":[15,16,79,51,65,14],"ppma_author":[2529],"class_list":["post-39455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-wellness","category-positive-living","tag-faith","tag-god","tag-healing","tag-inspirational-stories","tag-jesus","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChristian Minimalism: How Clearing Clutter Can Deepen Your Faith - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/christian-minimalism-how-clearing-clutter-can-deepen-your-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christian Minimalism: How Clearing Clutter Can Deepen Your Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every morning, I sit at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and take a deep breath of gratitude. 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