Carrie Baker – The Growth Collective

In my last blog post I wrote about letting go, ( you can read it here:) What if Beginning Well Began With Letting Go – and since then, I’ve noticed how that same invitation has been working its way out in some ordinary ways for me, at home.

I have felt what I can only describe as a persistent urge, as I began this new year – to have a clear out.

As our family left the fog of days around Christmas and New Years, I noticed that our compact home felt more untidy around the edges than usual. When I made the decision to actually look, I realised how much ‘stuff’ had gathered in our flat, stored away in drawers and hidden behind cupboard doors.

I realised this urge wasn’t just about wanting things to be tidier – but a desire and longing for more space.

Space gives us permission

Permission to breathe. To think more clearly. To notice what’s actually going on inside us. When our surroundings are crowded, it’s often harder to be still enough to listen – to ourselves, to one another, and to God. Creating space isn’t about perfection; it’s about making room to be present in our lives.

Tell me friend, have you ever felt that quiet nudge to clear things out, not because you have to, but because you sensed something new beginning to shape in your life?

I know from past experience, that something happens when you make space, even if at this moment you don’t know what you are making space for.

When we move things out of our physical space, it doesn’t just allow room for us to live our everyday life better and with more freedom – it also gives us a mental clarity we need in a busy world.

Space Allows Formation

There’s something deeply formational about tending well the spaces we inhabit – both our external and internal lives. How we tend our spaces can often reflect how we are inwardly. As we learn to release what no longer serves us physically, we become more attentive to what we might need to release internally too.

Let me ask you something: Does your home or your personal space feel like a sanctuary, somewhere that makes you feel relaxed and at peace? Or does it feel cluttered and a little overwhelming?

I decided to have a ‘life’ clear out at the end of last year. I sat and made time to prayerfully reflect over the year, noticing which commitments, routines, or habits I wanted to let go of, to make space for more as I began a new season. 

Making a regular practice of checking in with yourself and letting go of the ‘stuff’ whether it’s commitments, habits and routines, or even just the amount of stuff in your home, is a great way to have the space to live more fully. 

Let’s take a look at another area of our life – our inner self.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23–24 (NIV)

And why not throw in a regular ‘spiritual sort out’ as well? Over time there are things that creep into your life, whether it’s a lingering unforgiveness, a bit of pride, or an attitude that isn’t aligned with who the Lord is calling you to be.

This doesn’t mean that you’re failing in any way, it just reminds you that we are all imperfect humans who are growing. We are always being shaped by something. Regularly bringing these things out into the light – with the Lord, is not about shame, but about freedom and allowing our God to lead.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV

When we make it a practise to invite the Lord in, as we sort through these areas of our life slowly and imperfectly, we get to live in the fullness and the freedom He promises.

As we take our place in this new year, perhaps the invitation isn’t to add more into life, but to notice what needs releasing, so there’s room for what God is gently growing.

With love,

Carrie x

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