Saturday, October 25, 2008

Have you taken a look at your medicine cabinet lately?


Isn't this a sharp looking medicine cabinet! Of course we are just able to peek inside and not really see the contents, but it's a nice outer look to be sure!

Unfortunately as I was scrambling for my toothbrush a few things fell out of my medicine cabinet and since I'm in the 'cleaning mode' lately I felt I should really clean it out. First I thought I'd just get rid of the cough syrups that were almost gone, the half empty bottles of aspirin I'd combine, and how many nail clippers does one need in one place anyway?

What I thought would take ten minutes actually took quite a bit of time. I removed everything only to find that the cabinet really needed to be thoroughly cleaned--amazing how dust can get inside a closed cabinet!!! So, that being done, I noticed a sticker on the back of the door that told who made the cabinet. I realized I hadn't ever noticed that before and it seemed a bit dull, so I found a cute Mary Engelbreit sticker with a nice saying on it and put it over the decal of the manufacturer. That really perked up the look!


Now to the mess on my bathroom countertop! Advil, aspirin, motrin...all that for a person who rarely needs an aspirin for a headache. Now body aches - maybe - well YES, surely as I've been cleaning and bending and hauling and sitting in one position as I shredded and packed. However, I still don't need three bottles of aspirin! I was then faced with an odd assortment of other things for the eyes, ears, and of course medicated Vicks! I am sure they are all ages old so I can just toss those. All in all I had 42 items stuffed onto three shelves!



Right now I have only 16 needed and useful items! I dont' have time to take pictures and upload them to my computer, so I am just giving you a sample of how perfectly organized and clean a medicine cabinet can be and an idea of what my shelves look like today. Now I don't have to share the shelves with anyone, so I'll give you a break if you do!! I'd give you a break anyway since I only did this because the house is going to be up for sale and people will be peeking in...of course that didn't occur to me until things fell out of it!




It hit me as I worked on the cabinet that my heart can be similar--my outward appearance like the outside of the cabinet. Sharp, clean and looking good. Like the mirror, and the wood around it...showered, dressed, make up on and perfect hair...However, upon reflection it becomes apparent that 'stuff' is rotting away in there, or falls out and I stuff it back in unwilling to take the time to deal with it. It stinks as it rots away and permeates my very being and then eeks its filthy smell outward to those around me. A rotten heart serves no one but the enemy. He's happy to push his way in and sit there as long as we allow ourselves to be polluted.



Yesterday when I was shredding Jeff's files I came upon a lot of things like passports, final transcripts from high school and college, receipts for everything he ever purchased along with the manuals. He was highly organized! I came upon a couple of receipts for the engagement ring and other jewelery items he had purchased for his wife. Immediately I was filled with anger, tears, and a bitterness in regards to how she left him when he became ill. I complained about it in email to my brother and my friend Donna.
I pray for this woman, I really do, but when this type of thing comes up I am again overwhelmed by my feelings about the entire situation, and there it lingers for who knows how long, permeating, stinking, rotting, fermenting. And who does this hurt? Me and others around me. God's Word is pretty clear and everything in it is for our good. He knows what is best for us and gives us precise ways to live in order that we live purely and in an upright manner.
So today I pray for a clean heart, one free of bitterness and anger...one that wants to live in freedom and in peace with my Lord and the world around me.







I'm no angel, we all know that! This isn't the only area of my life that keeps cropping up, but I pray that when the Holy Spirit makes me aware of each failure, that I am quick to pray that Psalm.
If you have an area of concern in your spirit, ask the Lord to come in and strip you of each thing, to clean you up so that your outward presentation to the world reflects the inner peace and joy you have with Him.



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