I've been Spring Cleaning these past couple of weeks and I have to say it's alot of work but wow...I have found more things that I forgot about or thought were lost than I expected! haha I decided to go thru every crook and cranny...closets, cup boards, under the beds, and the junk drawer. (We all have one) Anyways I was amazed at how much junk I have accumilated through out the year! I mean I just did this last year! As I have been throwing things out and putting aside others for an upcoming Yard Sale it dawned on me that I need to do a Spring Cleaning of myself at least once a year as well. What do I mean you ask??? I think that over the years I've just gone thru life making sure that the needs of everyone else was met. As a wife and mom of two and as one who was involved in church and community I was making sure that apart of me went into each of these things. But somewhere over the years I found myself stashing things away...resentment, bitterness, unhappiness, and lost somethings such as my gifts and talents, my self worth, happiness, and my walk with God. Though God has always been there I just found myself saying I don't have time for a relationship right now because I'm so busy with life and ministry...didn't make sense. And of course I put my marriage on the back burner in a box marked "Fragile". With this New Year I realized that I had to do something different. I had backed out of every ministry and community group and was basically living for me and me alone. It's amazing how much junk I collected over the years when I took my eyes off of God. The Good News is that I set out to make a dileberate and intentional decision to change the course of my life. I began a spiritual and mental Spring Cleaning! It's been hard work but well worth it. I have had to break some bad habits, and make healthier choices. I have had to pack away somethings I held onto that were holding me back in the past, I have had to trust, make myself vulnerable, I have had to humble myself and resist being proud, I have gotten rid of some things I loved but were becoming too time consuming...myspace, facebook, (boo hoo) and I have even had to get rid of some relationships that were unhealthy. God has mended some broken relationships in my life, and allowed me to show grace and love to those I might not have done so in the past. I have made new friendships and have rediscovered some old friendships as well. I have even tried eating new things and buying clothes that I would have never tried before. The bottom line is that we all need to do a little Spring Cleaning and let God show us the area's of our lives that need to be swept out, thrown out, and spend time renewing tarnished areas. I hope that you will be encouraged thru this.
I Corinthians 10:23-24