I’ve never watched Hoarders, but I’m certainly aware of its popularity, which seems to have gone hand-in-hand with a variety of self-improvement articles that stress living a clutter-free life. I’m all for that. Except when I’m not.

I received the above gift last night from a parishioner at Urban Village. She recently went to Graceland and, though I’m not exactly sure why she thought of me when she saw a “Dashboard Wobbler” Elvis Presley, I am sincerely touched that she did. I used to have a whole collection of little gifts from parishioners: There was another Elvis gift–a soap-on-a-rope from Las Vegas. A vial of water from the Jordan River. A small model of Jerusalem encased in glass. An origami crane. Numerous crosses (some gaudy, others simple). When I packed up my office from my previous church, however, I knew I wouldn’t have a church office to go to so I went into “No Clutter!” mode. I got rid of books that I now regret parting with. Many of those tschotskes (like the Elvis soap-on-a-rope), sadly, also did not make the cut. I don’t know why. It wasn’t like they were taking up a ton of room, and each gift brought back a fond memory of the person who gave it.

So I will have to start over and it begins with Elvis. The next time someone tosses these items out, it will have to be my children who, no doubt, will mutter, why did Dad keep these things?