A New Year Reflection

For as long as I can remember, one of our family’s practices every year was to clean the house thoroughly before New Year’s Eve. “Out with the old, in with the new,” they say.

In today’s society, we’ve forgotten so many family traditions. Curious, I paused to ask on social media: “Raise your hand if you were brought up to clean the house before the New Year arrives.” To my surprise, this tradition is still going strong in many households.

One of the advantages of this task is uncovering treasures you’d forgotten about. As I cleaned, I found a few objects I hadn’t seen in years. I set these aside, thinking, “I’ll come back to them later—maybe I’ll keep them, or maybe I’ll regift them.” 😊

After hours of physical labor, I sighed with satisfaction and whispered to myself, “Mission complete!” I raised my head and glanced at the clock on the wall. “Why not?” I thought. “It’s still early; let’s do a little crafting.” But for some reason, I couldn’t get in the groove. Something felt… missing.

I inspected the house. Everything seemed to be in place. What had I overlooked? Then it hit me: around the house, everything was tidy and organized. But what about the inside? What about ending the year with some spiritual cleansing? Were there habits, attitudes, or even relationships I needed to let go of before the New Year began?

I grabbed a pen and my journal and opened it to a blank page. Without overthinking, the words flowed onto the paper so quickly it made my head spin. This exercise of reflection and release was just as beneficial as the physical cleaning of my home.

What about you? Might there be an area of your life needs to be put in order or cleansed as the New Year approaches? May I suggest that you take some time to ask yourself: Are there any habits, attitudes, or even relationships weighing me down or holding me back? Then go a step further and consider how releasing these could make space for something new, something better, as the year begins.

Happy New Year!

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