Cleaning Closets: A Piece of Prose

My husband and I rented the townhome we live in while we still lived in another state. We found it online and liked the pictures and description provided. Sadly, those pictures must have been taken about a decade ago, and we were sorely disappointed when we got here. We have dealt with a leaky roof that the management took months to fix, decrepit kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, a crumbling interior wall and an infestation of roly-poly bugs in our living room.

We have stuck out our lease, though, and . I was walking the dog this morning, pondering all that we still have to do. I was considering how much work it is going to be to finish cleaning out closets, packing, throwing away junk we don't need, taking it all to the new place and then cleaning up the mess we leave behind. However, we really want to get out of this place and into the house, so we just have to buckle down and get to work.

It struck me how life is like that. Each of us struggles with things inside of ourselves that we are not happy with, whether it is a sin that we keep going back to, a battle with some type of addiction, or even a character trait that gets in the way of us from becoming the person God created us each to be.

However, we know that overcoming these issues is HARD. We have to clean out the mental and emotional closets in which we have packed things away to deal with later - or not at all. We have to take note of and nurture our strengths - the things we need to keep - and toss out all the junk and clutter that is weighing us down. Then we have to try to clean up some of the messes we have made. It is not fun, so we tend to simply stay put, even though we might not be crazy about where we are right now.

The good news is that we do not have to do this work alone. Paul tells us in Titus that God gives us the grace we need to become more like Christ.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14

So, while I am wrapping dishes in newspaper and tossing out bags of garbage this week, I am also going to be taking a good, hard, prayerful look at myself. I know there are lots of cobwebs that need to be dusted away and messes to be dealt with. I also know that staying put is not an option, and that with God's grace and strength I can do it!

How about you?