Say What?!

All throughout our married life, we've been plagued by clutter. Nothing big, at least nothing big the way I see it. But enough that it frustrates the heck out of my wife- a half-finished book tossed on a table, a kayak magazine (or two... or three) placed on the dining room table, a notebook computer on the kitchen table. You get the idea. It seems like we're always working on the clutter, but it seems to multiply on its own. It's been all we can do just to keep relatively even with it.

So I've been working out of town for a while recently. Got back this week. When I came in the house, something seemed different, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The next morning I sensed the difference once again. I paused and studied everything around me. The clutter. It was gone! Wow- everything looked great. Some stuff had been thrown away; some had been neatly put away where it belonged. But the clutter was gone. And everything looked really nice.

Then I woke up this morning, and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Halfway there it dawned on me. The house was clean... clutter was gone... because I had been away. My presence was tied to the clutter. Everything else was the same; my absence had been the only change. Bummer! What a stinkin' bite! (I shared my insight with my wife immediately, and paused to apologize and promise to try harder.) I still couldn't believe it. ME? ClutterMan?

A lot of times we start griping about the bad run of luck we've had in life. The deck seems stacked against us. Everybody's out to get us. If only...

But the fact is, we're often the greatest cause of what goes wrong in life. The Bible calls it "sin". Wherever we are, "sin" is too. And it clutters our life with ugliness. Somewhat like my wife while I was gone, when God is able to guide life on His intended course, things go well. But as soon as we get back in the picture, sin's clutter returns. We're the cause. Talk about a bummer...!

Thank goodness God offers a new start and a do-over to all those who turn to Him for help. The help He offers is called forgiveness, and the power He gives to follow His direction is the Holy Spirit who promises to take up residence in our hearts and guide us in the "way everlasting". Ready to get your life uncluttered?