Closet Discoveries

Aren’t you happy that spring is about to pounce upon us?

But that usually means it’s THAT time of year…again!

Do you clean out your closets in springtime? I need to purge all mine. It’s scary territory in there! Who knows what’s hiding in there?

When I clean, I’ll probably find things that make me wonder, Why am I keeping this old thing? And things like coats I meant to give away but forgot because they’re put away, hidden from view.

Or maybe I’ll find things like worn-out shoes, old kids’ games, and yellowed photos. Or outdated clothes saved merely for sentimental reasons, like the wedding dress that will never EVER again wrap around this latter-day figure.

Then, there’s the other stuff that can’t be stored anywhere else.

In my digging, I might find an old pair of baby shoes from one of the kids, or my grandmother’s Bible, or old love letters that have been stashed away for a bazillion years.

I might even make some fun discoveries. Like, So that’s where that is sort of discoveries! But then, some of the discoveries may not be so fun. Reminders of the past. Discoveries that need to be thrown out before the closet bulges and explodes!

On the old radio program Fibber McGee, there was a running gag about The Closet. It was so packed with stuff that, whenever someone opened the door, everything came tumbling out.

The thing is, the more you pile into a closet, the harder it is to find something.

That being the case, I wonder…do I have a Fibber McGee’s Closet, one full of things I keep shoving into it? Overflowing with things I’d like to forget or hide away?

I do. In the home of my heart, the place I have told the Lord is His home. When I collect things, like old hurts, sins of any sort, unresolved unforgiveness, and outdated heartaches, and toss them into my heart-closet, I pile them on top of the Lord, covering Him up.

Then, when I need Him, I can’t find Him.

Do I do as Fibber did, clean out my closet only to pile things back in, filling it up again with so much stuff that it’s ready to explode, leading to more disasters?

Every day should be a clean-the-closet day, never letting anything accumulate.

Do you have a closetful of old junk, things you’ve put away and hidden from view? Have you piled too much into your heart’s closet, making it harder to find the Lord? If so, your heart can become overwhelmed, bulging, ready to explode. It can be scary territory in there.

If you sort through all the stuff, you may make some discoveries about yourself. You may wonder, Why am I keeping these old things? These old worn-out shoes of bad habits and attitudes? These old games I play with others? These things of the past that need to be given to God?

When you decide to clean your heart’s closet, you may find an old love letter from the Lord.

“Create in me a new, clean heart, O God,

filled with clean thoughts and right desires.”

(Psalms. 51:10 TLB)

May your heart’s home always have a clean closet...Lynn