Start the new year with a spiritual cleanse, sweeping out the negatives with joy and love

Here we are, at the dawn of a new year. We have had many challenges this year. Yet here we are, waiting to celebrate another trip around the sun.

When I was growing up, there were some things my mom always did in preparation for the new year. First, there was the general cleaning of our home, ridding it of unwanted clutter. She threw out anything that she deemed not useful to carry into the new year.

So, New Year’s Eve was spent washing dirty clothes — couldn’t let the new year find the clothes hamper full of dirty clothes. The same went for the entire house. Floors had to be swept clean and scrubbed, if necessary. The refrigerator had to be emptied of any leftover food that had been left over too long.

This was a great time for my small family. My brother Adam and I worked alongside our mom, cleaning and later starting the New Year’s Day meal — usually black-eyed peas with ham hocks, rice, collard greens (for good fortune) and cornbread. Sometimes there would be fried fish, too.

We would clean and cook for most of the day. Then it was time to attend Watch Night service at church, where there would be testifying and singing and praying the new year in.

That was always an exciting time for me as a child. Often, when I and other youngsters in the congregation were on our knees, supposedly praying, we discovered that being on our knees — with our heads on our folded arms on the pew — wasn’t such a bad idea. We could get an extra nap while the grown-ups prayed.

I loved to hear the testimonies of some of the congregants, who told of their trials during the year and how the Lord brought them over. And I loved singing the old hymns and gospel songs.

The one thing I didn’t enjoy too much was when one of the deacons prayed too long, thanking God for everything in his entire life. He would thank the Lord for not allowing his bed to be his “cooling board, and for the blood running warm in his veins.” I was a grown woman when I learned the story of the “cooling board.”

In the days before embalming, usually in rural areas, the “cooling board” was where folks laid out their deceased loved ones, after the body had been bathed and dressed for viewing and the funeral. This was a loving process, usually done by the women in the family and from the neighborhood.

So, while the grownups in the congregation knew what the deacon was praying (many of them had come to the city from rural areas), we youngsters conjured up different explanations for the “cooling board” in our minds, like someone standing over a deceased body, fanning him/her with a church fan to keep the body cool.

As I grew older, I learned to treasure these old traditions that many Blacks brought with them when they migrated from the rural South to the city.

I learned, too, that there was spiritual value in cleaning one’s home before the new year. I learned that as my mom cleaned the house, getting rid of the things that cluttered our space, she also cleaned her spiritual house. I learned from her that the new year was a good time for a fresh start for the natural house, as well as the spiritual house.

Cleaning one’s spiritual house is a great way to enter the new year. It is more than making resolutions that are easily broken. It means taking inventory of what’s going on in your heart, and getting rid of the things that keep you from living your best life. Throughout the year, the heart, our spiritual house, has been subjected to all kinds of hurts and pain. It has been bombarded with harsh words, disappointments and lies.

Even so, it seems to be easy to hold on to the things that hinder our spiritual growth. Some of us might even find it comforting to have a pity party with ourselves, and anyone else who is willing to party with us. But just as it is needful to clean our natural house, it is even more important to clean one’s spiritual house.

The new year brings with it a new beginning, a fresh start. I believe there is no greater time than now to focus on cleaning our spiritual house. We can start by moving through each “room” of our heart and sweep out hate. Jealousy and bitterness could be hiding in the corners. Find them and sweep them. out, too.

There could be some strife hiding in your spiritual closet. Open wide the door and throw it out. And while you are at it, throw out bad-mouthing each other. Don’t forget to throw out impatience.

When you have swept clean your spiritual house, you can begin to fill it with love and joy and laughter. You can fill it with humility, compassion and just being kind and thoughtful. Once your spiritual house is stripped of the negatives, and filled with the good stuff, you will find that you can rest better. Your spirit will be quieter and healthier, and your sleep more restful.

May you all be blessed with a Healthy and Happy New Year!