Maybe it's just me, but I've been known to shove miscellaneous items, of various kinds, into closets and drawers, just for the appearance of being neat and tidy. I'm not just talking about that infamous "junk drawer" that we all likely have. I'm talking about several junk drawers or spaces... random clothing mish-mash drawers, paper drawers, a little bit of everything drawers.. you name it!
Often, I don't have a place for these items. Other times, perhaps I do, but it's just easier to shove them for the time being, so that I can at least have the feeling that I have it all together. I don't have time to deal with them right now, but I want things to be clean and orderly, so I hide these various little messes, until I can either figure out where they belong, or take the time to sort through them, and purge some items.
Today was one of those days where I got the urge to pull everything out, sort through the chaos, dispose of things I simply don't need to hang onto anymore, and put things back in more of a TRUE orderly fashion. Oh, I feel so much better as I'm cleaning things out, hauling things off, and figuring out better solutions for the odds and ends. It brings me such peace and satisfaction.
Am I only one who does this?
It occurred to me, this morning, how this can be much like the state of our emotional lives. We often have unresolved issues, traumas, unchecked emotions, lingering sin, etc., that we either don't know what to do with, or don't have time to deal with... so we shove them into the drawers and closets of our minds, so we can at least look and feel like we have gotten it all together.
Oh, what peace and joy it brings to pull it out into the open, and sort through it all. Which things need to be disposed of? Which things are holding me back? What do I need to take to the Lord? Hold myself accountable for? Understand better? You get the point. I know that, for me, I can only feel "okay" with my shoving methods for so long. In both scenarios. Eventually, I get to the point where I can't take it anymore, and I'm prompted to take action.
Sometimes I get far with my efforts, and other times, just a bit of progress is made. Maybe one drawer. But I always feel a certain level of satisfaction knowing that at least I've sorted through that one messy corner of my life.
Can you relate?
When it comes to those hidden areas of our minds, we can always be reassured that we have a loving God who longs to help us do that sorting. He will comfort us, guide us, lead us to people who can help us, and most of all LOVE us through the process. I'm so thankful for that today... aren't you?