Gift of Clearing

 This morning I was thinking about gifts associated with clearing.  My friend told me about her experience of using her spiritual gifts to clear a Provo building of about 100 cluttered spirits in the attic and help them pass through portals to another world.  She reported how the process took her about 45 minutes and had been a significant spiritual experience for those involved. 

 I was extremely familiar with the recently cleared Gothic building space since I worked there for over a year.  I sure could have used the help of those "100 spirits" as I spent literally weeks organizing 20 years of costumes from that same attic area. I did feel the spirits of all those staff and students who spent so much time and energy bringing the theatrical programs to life.  It was a journey through time but I was never scared or creeped out.  Maybe I should have been, considering there were reports of ghosts in the building but I always felt safe and peaceful.  Besides I was preoccupied with creating order out of chaos.  That's one of my gifts.    

I've utilized the gift several times during the last decades. I did it when my father passed away with his man cave.  I did it with my husband's never-ending parade of possessions during our marriage.  I did it with my uncle's house.  I did it with the basement for a guy I barely knew.  I did it for my daughter from her old house to her new house.  I did it for the art rooms, gym closets, therapy spaces at different facilities.   I did every time I moved from one space to the next. I did it last Sunday at my son's house for his new baby.   It seems like I'm always doing it because, like spirits that keep popping up in various spaces, entropy abounds.  Since we live in a world of tangible things, there are abundant opportunities to clear the way.  Let's have some order here!

But just because I'm good at it, doesn't mean I like it.  I would NEVER do it as a side-gig.  It takes so much out of me!  Though there is some satisfaction in the temporary order, it is mostly an expression of love and appreciation.  Maybe I'm a bit like the spiritualist who told me how much love and peace she felt as she was doing her energy work.  

So how is it done?  It was interesting to learn about some of her spiritual process as she works with the intangible world but I will leave that to her to write about it.  In my work with the tangible world,  I come into a space that is complete chaos. It is completely overwhelming that most people leave it alone, don't approach it or simply learn to live with it. But not for me the clutter whisperer!  Though things are not dead people, each item is certainly connected with life or lives of people who have used the object for some purpose.  Some purposes are easier to guess than others. I throw very little out.  It has to be legit trash. Everything is done with utmost respect for the people involved and their "dead things."

In the case with the haunted costume attic, I can't see dead people, but I can see how some things are alike and how they are different.  Though I'm not coaching ghosts through portals, I can make some type of container for these like items- bags, boxes, closet space, or spots on the floor.   Then I see a vision of how they can be arranged or given a semi-permanent resting place. 

The whole process makes me appreciate each item in guessing what the item was used for, and what it could be used for in the future.  In this case, it was for future use in treatment groups.  The goal is utilize the resources we already have and organize them in a way for quick and efficient retrieval.    With these thoughts in mind, it come down to picking up one item at a time and putting it where it belongs.  Little by little, the pile grows smaller.  The large trash bags that have been sitting there for years, are opened and sorted until there are none and all is put away.  

I remembered the pride I felt about the costume attic when it was put in order.  I even found old pictures of the past theatrical productions and placed them around the room to breathe a little life into the place, though I guess THAT wasn't needed.  

I go tomorrow to pick up a few costume items from the newly "cleared" attic for my program in Millcreek for our celebration of the '80s, '90s, and '00s.  Ironically it is called "Spirit Week."  I have never really considered my abilities surrounding organization as a spiritual gift, but I guess it is.  It's a different kind of clearing.  I clear the way for new possibilities, help people with their stuff and benefit in the process.  

Sealing/Bonding/Binding-The Good Stuff!

 This morning I was thinking about the authority and efficacy of sealing prayers for specific priesthood ordinances in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Though I am not a temple sealer, as a current ordinance worker in the temple, I have been given some authority to seal when doing initiatory ordinances.  It is a significant power and a privilege to pronounce sacred blessings.  Extraordinary words indeed.

Some of the more obvious, outward expressions of joy come from brides and their wedding parties.  Oh, the excitement of young couples coming to the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity!  It is also a beautiful sight to see young children dressed in white to surround the temple altars to be sealed to their parents.  Both of these happy sights reinforce the wonderous doctrine of the restored church, "Families Can Be Together Forever".  How wonderful!

Of course, it causes pain as well.  Especially considering my personal circumstances.  Like all of us, I want the good stuff too and don't want to miss out on blessings. However, through the years, I've noticed these great promises related to sealed families are providing more hope than pain.

One of my most favorite parts about being an ordinance worker is the prayer meeting to start the 4-hour shift.  I feel like I'm at General Conference being addressed by the most incredible speakers. Yesterday,  in the message from our temple matron, she made reference to how ordinances and covenants bind us to Christ.  It got me thinking about the word "bind".  Surely it's related to the word "bond." 

One of the first tasks of a newborn and its mother is to bond, especially after the cord has been cut.  Throughout the life of a family, people spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and resource for family bonding. We want to be close and connected throughout our life to our loved ones.  These connections often come with strings attached or "expectations."  These expectations can feel binding at times, even restrictive and perhaps a little judgmental.   But we continue to show up and try to meet the expectations because we love our families and want to be with them.  Even if that hoop is on fire, I'm going to jump through it, especially if I think it will help.  And if we say we're going to help, we want our word to be our bond.  They can count on us to "be there."  Bonding and binding are key to a lasting connection.  

Bonding also has reference to the term "sealing."  Whatever the contract, the covenant, I want ut to stick or hold up under pressure- to be efficacious- to actually work.  Trusting in promises requires it.  Magic words are only magic if the desired result is achieved.  If not, I'm just playing pretend with a toy wand and fooling even myself.  But how much power do words really have when it comes to families being together forever?  Sealing power is required along with faithfulness to the covenant being made.   

I'm so grateful sealing power has been restored through the prophet Elijah to truly turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and fathers to their children.  It is a curse to be separated.  It is a waste to be left desolate without root or branch. The destructive forces that tear families apart are devasting to the hearts of men, women, and children.  But what of my heavenly family?  What about my brother, Jesus Christ.  My Heavenly Father?  How do I bond with them? 

The joy I see in the temple each week from earthly families united through sealings is a symbol of the ever inclusive promised celestial union and reunion with our premortal nuclear family.  How happy our Father is when we make an effort to bind ourselves to him.   What pain he must feel when his children don't want to be connected to him for whatever reason.  

Jesus offers love and  acceptance beyond compare. He sees our heart.  He know us perfectly.  He is a merciful judge. The required expectation for a potentially joyful heavenly reunion with Him and our siblings?  Exercising faith in his son, Jesus Christ.  Being faithful to our covenants not only binds us to him but also nurtures our bond with him and shows God we want to be with him too!  We love him too! It's the good stuff for all!