Everything was ready.

Ready for that brand new, sparkly adventure called TODAY.

Everything, that is, except for the shirt.

Picking out shorts, shoes, and socks was the easy part of the equation. Shirts – being the most prominent member of the clothing family, as we know – can make or break the entire ensemble.

Picking purposefully through my options there in the closet, I suddenly came across an old friend. It was that maroon T-shirt proudly proclaiming the wearer’s attendance at U2’s 2017 Joshua Tree tour. 

“Wow!” I exclaimed to Tee. “I completely forgot you were in here! How long has it been since I put you on?”

“Too bloody long,” Tee replied, in a bit of that cute Irish accent you’d expect. “By my accounts here my last wearing was August 18, 2019. Just before you moved to Fort Collins.”

I was astonished! Taken aback! Flabbergasted! Flummoxed! (Thank God for electronic thesauruses!). “That sure is a long time,” I concurred. “If that’s the case, I wonder why you’re still here. Why haven’t I tossed you into a donation bin along with my other Forgotten Fashions?”

Tee replied, “As I see it, it is probably a combination of three factors that lead to me still hanging around on this hanger. First, I’d like to think that maybe you kind of like me. Second, you still want to show people how hip and happening you were once upon a time. And the third – and most likely – reason I am still here; the $40 you spent on a simple piece of screen-printed cotton cloth!”

I paused and considered Tee’s thoughtful analysis. He’d hit a thread of truth on all three of the reasons he offered. 

But since he is – as Tee himself confessed – a simple piece of screen-printed cotton, I think he missed the real, more deep-seated reason I keep hanging on to something I should have discarded/donated long, long ago. 

The reason is: I’m a clinger. [with apologies to my good friend Jeff who has this very word as his family name].

Meaning I hold on to stuff. Sometimes for WAAAAY longer than I should. 

Sometimes the practice of clinging can show up as a virtue. Holding on to the same clothes, kitchenware, friends, cars, core values, home, and spouse is a testament to the virtues of loyalty and steadfastness. Right?

At other times, however, clinging can show up as an unhealthy vice. 

Holding on to hurts and resentments. Holding on to outmoded ideas. Holding on to prejudices. Holding on to harmful habits. Holding on to dead dreams. None of this kind of clinging is healthy in the least.

And yes, OK. I’ll even include holding on to tee-shirts that should have been sent to Goodwill on this list… if you insist. 

So why do we do it? What keeps our fingers wrapped so tightly around that thing we know we should pitch into the next wastebasket we pass? 

Habit? Familiarity? Fear of change? Sin?

The writer(s?) of the book of Hebrews votes for the latter… and advises us on the benefits of doing a little “spring cleaning” of our souls: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…” (Hebrews 12:1, NRSVU).

I love this image of “running the race.” Especially since we are smack dab in the middle of the Olympics right now. 

Whether we know it or not, we are each running a race every day. It is a race with eternal consequences. It is a race against death and the forces that seek to drag us down and deny our participation in the reality of Christ’s resurrected life. 

And so, to be able to compete fully in this glorious race, we need to carry as little excess baggage as possible…

… even if it means tossing out that perfectly awesome T-shirt.

Abundant blessings;