Good morning! We had such a nice, bright sun-shiny day yesterday and for some reason one of the first things that comes to my mind is that I have to do some Spring cleaning! The yard needs to be cared for after being neglected for most of the Winter, the garden needs to be turned over, and worst of all – the garage needs to be cleaned!
We currently have no shed (which now that I’m thinking about it is ANOTHER thing that needs to be done) so everything is in the garage. Our bikes, lawn equipment, power tools, beach stuff, and honestly who knows what else. Sometimes I think it is a black hole that continues suck stuff into it, never to be seen again!
As much as I want to blame others for the disaster that is the garage, I really have no one to blame except for myself. If I’m working on a project around the house, I like to keep all the tools I need in one place so I can work efficiently. The problem is… when I am done with the project and the tools need to be put away, they tend to get put in the closest “pile” of things with the intention of going in later and putting it in it’s proper place.
But I’m sure you could have guessed, I never get back to putting it in the right place. Something else has already grabbed my attention and has become more important than the tools that have now become forgotten about!
Before you know it, I don’t even know what I have in the garage anymore and its not until Spring cleaning time that I get to go in, pull everything out into the driveway, and get rid of stuff we don’t need anymore that keeps getting in the way of organizing the things that really need to be in there.
This is just another thing that has so many similarities to our spiritual lives. Our intention is to keep our lives clean (and pure) but little by little, they begin to get messy. We allow certain things to take up space without even realizing it until we can’t find space for the things that matter. After a while, it takes a conscious effort to remove the unnecessary junk, and reorganize the priorities in our lives.
Ever since I can remember, I have always had what some people may call, a little bit of a temper. I don’t know what they are talking about LOL, all I know is that I am so thankful for the work that God has done in my life to TRANSFORM the way I think, speak, and behave! But recently I have noticed that I have been losing my patience with people quicker than normal and have been reacting in a way that doesn’t display the love of God.
Don’t get the wrong picture, it’s not that I turn into the Tasmanian Devil (cartoon character for those who remember) spinning out of control only to leave destruction in my path. I just don’t act in a way that resembles what God is doing in my life. Within the last two weeks, I caught myself beginning to raise my voice in frustration with Mer and Josh on a couple of occasions and immediately the Holy Spirit began correcting me.
This reminds me of how we need to make a decision daily to choose God’s ways in every situation and in every moment. Sometimes we don’t even realize what we are allowing to be stored up in our hearts until it begins to come out. But the truth is that whatever is stored up in our hearts will eventually come out.
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Luke 6:45
This morning, I encourage you to do some Spring cleaning. By this I mean to ask God to search your heart and let Him reveal if there is anything that needs to be removed, changed, or added. We may think we have everything under control, but sometimes like the stuff tucked away in the garage, we may not even be aware of what’s in there.
“A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart.”
Proverbs 21:2
God is the only one who can take our cluttered mess and bring it to order. He is the One who created us and knows what we need better than anyone else ever could! Spring cleaning is never fun, but the results are always satisfying! Let God bring satisfaction to your life today!
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your kindness and love that continues to draw us into a closer relationship with You! You have created us in Your image and have a special plan for each one of us! Help us to take a moment today to allow You to search our hearts. Show us the things that don’t belong so that they can be replaced with things that honor You! Help us to choose daily to live for You! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 