My husband and I have been watching an older series on television written and produced to showcase individuals who have adopted living a “hoarder” lifestyle. If you’re not familiar with the term it basically means folks who have created stockpiles of stuff either in their yards or inside homes. In most cases, any space on their property has become a place to stash and store their possessions. There’s a variety of styles that are used to accumulate the “stuff”…there’s the people who pick through someone else’s junk on trash day, purchases of new merchandise at stores or a thrift shop, an inability to throw out old items including daily common trash created from cooking meals, etc. Some of the episodes we’ve watched have revealed some pretty disgusting living conditions pertaining to rodent and insect infestation, unusable bathroom facilities, rotting floors, walls and ceilings from lack of proper maintenance.

As a viewer who is outside the situation it’s been easy to get frustrated and angry trying to comprehend how a person can get swallowed up by a hoarding lifestyle. My own frustrations are often echoed by family members, therapists and cleanup crews who are brought in to help a homeowner declutter property and home in order to rebuild habits that lead to a new healthy living environment. Usually the allotted time devoted to each project is 3-4 days, all intense work as rooms are unpacked, sorted for trash or possible donations.

We watch as the “hoarder” begins the cleanup journey with 100% enthusiasm, fully cooperating as their “treasures” begin to get packed, tossed into trash bags which pile up dumpster after dumpster. I think the worst case I’ve watched so far is that of an elderly woman who lived in a mansion and I kid you not–every room was packed full of stuff she had collected. Some of it began as a home business as an interior decorator but over time a shift in her brain caused a need to buy, buy some more, and never throw anything away.

We’ve also noted that in each person’s life chronicled in this series, some form of trauma in their life altered their behavior. Folks with normal common sense for daily living slowly adopted over buying, over keeping, not cleaning their home with regular routines only to find themselves surrounded, held captive in mountains of “stuff”. Sadly, their mental health challenge blinded them from unhealthy living conditions until an intervention was initiated by family and friends. By day 2 or 3 of the cleanup, cooperation is usually exchanged for denial, anger, and bartering to keep useless “stuff”. It’s sad.

As I’ve watched each episode I’ve witnessed how a therapist works with the “hoarder” to find the source of trauma, address it, and begin to gently admonish and teach new thought patterns to change their brains. I’m not sure if anything is scripted or if what we’re watching is pure raw conversations, but it’s very enlightening how trauma or believing a lie causes hoarding behavior in people.

Likewise, in the Body of Christ–those of us who follow Christ and meet together weekly in our church settings–bring a vast variety of hurts and habits with us. Together, we’re a hot mess. Some of our behavior was our own fault, others fall into the category of “sin against us”. In either case, Christ offers hope.

 “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8)

Furthermore, in Mark we read more about why Christ came: “ When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”. (Mark 2:17)

In our ministry at Celebrate Recovery we deal with hurts, habits and hangups. We come alongside men and women who have lived lives filled with trauma. Unlike a TV program produced for educating and exposing a person’s hoarding lifestyle, we minister with Christ’s love and scriptures to reset brain patterns, launch healthy spiritual growth, and “cleanup” emotional baggage that has held people captive instead of living a life of freedom available through Christ. Unfortunately, the work in Celebrate Recovery is not limited to 3-4 days, but rather can take a lifetime of consistent hard work laying aside stinkin’ thinkin’ and giving full surrender to Jesus Christ as the only higher power to bring change, renewal, and hope!

So, does your life reflect that of a hoarder? Is there a deep hurt or a nasty habit holding you captive? At Celebrate Recovery we’d love to introduce the 12 step process that unlocks the door to your cell. We meet every Tuesday, 7 pm at Fowlerville United Brethren in Christ Church. For more information, call 517.223.9490.

What do you have to lose if you step out of your misery to seek a better way? Probably tons of unwanted “stuff”!