This past week I continued working on my home office. After much sorting and clearing out what was left over from its years as a bedroom, a storage area, and a “hide it here and deal with it later” space, it was time to strip the room of its old wallpaper.
Thankfully, friends joined me for that adventure! Jason, Jennifer, their daughter, her friend, and Mollie the dog, all participated. Jason and Jennifer provided scraping power while the two girls entertained each other. Most crucial to the success of the day, Mollie oversaw crowd control; making sure she knew where ALL of us were, ALL of the time, ALL day long. (Hers was the hardest task!)
Tackling this project with good conversation, laughter and of course a shared meal, made it much more enjoyable. (As did the power of vinegar and water to conquer five- decade old wallpaper paste. Thank you Junior Hershberger for that tip!)
After we had finished and my friends had gone home, I told my brother, “This feels like Christmas.” I was experiencing the joy of having others share my dream of transforming this room from a closet to the past into a bright work area for today and for the future.
Our workday has prompted me to do some more “life-lesson pondering”. In order to move towards my goal, I’ve had to “lose” a lot of possessions that I once thought valuable. Some have been hauled away by the garbage truck. Others have been shared with family members or passed on to the local resale shop.
As a result, I’ve lost a lot of stuff, but I’m gaining space to live.
Yes, once again God is using my house to illustrate His work in my life.
I carry a lot of the past. Boxes of pain, fear and resentment from hurts I’ve received. Drawers full of habits that I don’t want to let go. Walls covered with self-directed attempts at concealing my failures and sins.
Jesus talks about losing our lives in order to gain life. God’s invitation is that I allow Him to sort and clear out my boxes of pain. To empty hidden compartments of habits that I’ve clung to with my self-will. To clear the walls of the marks and stains of what used to identify my life.
As I allow God to continue clearing out the old, I do “lose” a good bit of what I’ve grown accustomed too. But in return I gain space to live.
Unhampered by the clutter of what was.
(Makes me sort of look forward to whatever God is going to uncover to throw out next!)
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