Cleaning out my closet

Last week I decided to try and get ahead on Spring cleaning by de-cluttering my closet. Now there's something you have to understand about me, I haven't grown since I was about 14 >> fast forward 7 years to now, yes, that means that I can still fit into most of the clothes that I've had since and all the way through high school, that's a lot of clothes. And whenever I think about it I feel such a sense of guilt at the abundance I have when I've met and known people who have very little. But that's not the point of this post.

While I was sitting on my floor sorting through my clothes I went through my closet and did a general sweep of things with holes that I could for sure get rid of, things that my sister might like and could grow into, things that I wear occasionally but don't come out often were sent to the back if I ever do pull them out. That was step one.
Step two: go through my drawers one by one --- the sweaters, the pj's, the shorts, the t-shirts that I've accumulated from various sports and school events, and socks- the never ending pile of socks.

Not that the order that I cleaned through my closet is all that important but as I was folding and pairing all those socks together I began to think of the very real spiritual parallel to this activity.


You see, sometimes we do this 'step one' kind of thing with Jesus.
We let him to a general sweep. Sometimes there are things in our hearts that obviously need to go - bad habits or thought patterns - and we know they're there, we know we should get rid of them.  but sometimes, like I've done with some old t-shirts I say 'oh well it's not so bad I'll just wait until it actually needs to be thrown out and keep it around a little bit longer, it's really not a big deal.' And if we're talking about t-shirts, maybe it really isn't - but if we're talking about our hearts that is not a good attitude to have before the Lord.


But I desire for myself and for others to have a 'step two' kind of relationship with him. The kind where I let him into each drawer, each area of my life and let Him search through and say '"Hey, you're clinging onto this old shirt , you know it's no longer appropriate to wear if you're wanting to clothe yourself in righteousness...and it has holes. Yes, you can still fit into it, you could still wear it, but it is not what I would have for you. Are you willing to give it up?"

*Whew, wow!*

When we allow God to do this in our lives He will put His finger on things, things we may never consider or think of as a big deal, and it's always our choice to surrender those things, but God wants to clean out the closet of our hearts, He wants into each drawer, each area of our lives and He wants more than just Spring cleaning.

Illustrated verse

I've been doing more illustrated verses lately and wanted to share this one.  
I wanted to be intentional about how it was designed. 

Typically when I do this kind of art it's 'pretty' looking but because of the nature of the verse and the reality that taking up your cross is not easy (or pretty) it often looks harsh, but truly the joy of following God is like no other and it's so worth it! :)