A neighbor and I hosted a yard sale last weekend. We hatched the plan after an ice storm left us feeling like the walls were closing in. At the time, spending six hours manning a card table in the back yard sounded like a celebration of spring.

As it turned out, it was a celebration.

For the last several months, I have been dusting around the book Make Room for God: Clearing out the Clutter, by Susan K. Rowland. This was the right time to read it.

Rowland based the book on her own experience of downsizing after a divorce. She put together a quick read that combines spiritual insights with practical tips on restoring order in our homes and lives. She wrote:

Clearing out the clutter, as mundane as it seems, really is a sacred task. There is a connection we make between our messes and our spirituality. But first we must decide we really have too many things, possessions that do not help us be the people we want to be.

The book reminded me of a story that one of my favorite priests tells.

Fr. Paul Coutinho, a Jesuit from India who has written several of his own books and teaches classes at Saint Louis University, had trouble parting with one of his possessions when he was a seminarian. It was a wool sports sweater he received for being the all-around best sportsman in school. He realized that what made letting go of the sweater so difficult was that he hadn't fully enjoyed it. He instead kept it in perfect condition.

The book, and Fr. Paul's story, made clearing out my closets a philosophical practice rather than drudgery. It also made the sale a sort of spiritual experience.

The best moment was when I sold a shirt that had been a gift from someone who later hurt me. Every time I pulled open my dresser drawer and saw that shirt, it reminded me of a painful mess. Watching someone walk away from the sale with the shirt was liberating for me and apparently a thrill for the buyer.

I got to know a few neighbors, made a few dollars, cleared space in my home, and presumably brought a little joy to a few other homes where my stuff will be useful.

So, with help from Susan Rowland and Paul Coutinho, and a bit of original thought from me, I want to offer a few ideas on how a yard sale/garage sale can in fact bring you closer to God.

1) We are supposed to be in the moment, right? The stuff in our homes represents so many moments that have passed. They distract us and weigh us down.

2) Rowland cited 1 Corinthians 14:33: "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." Being able to get to the files that have been buried in my coat closet brings me peace.

3) Giving things away, or selling things for a price that is virtually giving them away, is good. We all have things that we do not need and someone else would love to have. It feels great to make that transaction.

4) Decluttering is an exercise in examining what matters to you and why it matters. Figuring that out, at least for me, offered insights into my relationship with God.

5) A garage sale reminds us that we are a tiny part of a big picture, and the picture is always in flux. I encountered people I had never met but whose houses I walk by every day. I watched items that belonged to a person who has died become the possessions of someone who is moving into her first apartment.

I know it sounds ridiculously like the song from Lion King, but the garage sale gave me a glimpse of the circle of life.