There are parts of our houses that can be considered as prime real estate for items in the household. One of these places in our home is the linen closet in the bathroom. We have four shelves where we cram, I mean neatly place ;-), all the items we “need” to use in the bathroom. Without permission, how dare he, my husband decided one day to purchase a life-sized bottle of Listerine. It sat right in front on. what is personally my favorite shelf, the eye-level shelf. For months, I worked around it. However, as the shelves in the bathroom closet grew more and more chaotic, I recently reached my breaking point and cleaned the whole thing out. I channeled my inner “The Home Edit” girl and purchased new organizational containers as well as arranged items in rainbow color order. However, no matter how I arranged things in the closet, that monster-sized Listerine bottle just kept getting in the way! It was definitely messing with my bathroom Feng shui.
After several different arrangement plans and many moments of frustration, I decided it was time to confront the Listerine bottle issue head on. I would start out by gathering information.
Me: Honey, are you still using this Listerine in here? Husband: Oh that, no I haven’t used that in months!! A simple conversation, and that “Supermarket Sweep” bonus-sized bottle (check it out if you have never seen that game show!) of Listerine was out of my life forever! I literally felt pounds lighter.
I hate to break it to you, but just as I dealt with the Listerine for weeks unnecessarily, we do the same with many more serious aspects of life. How often do we -feel blocked by our own guilt and shame as we hide it in our closet and let it take up unnecessary space? -weight our shelves of life down with worries or burdens? -avoid a conflict that we do not want to deal with, are scared to admit to, or feel consumed by the overwhelming challenge of facing it, so we just cowardly hide everything else behind it and let it continue to take up prime real estate in our brain eating away at our shelf space?
We can fix it all with just one simple conversation with God. Let God take care of that Giant thing standing in your way!
Give the Lord the burden or worry! Seek God’s wisdom for the obstacle or challenge! Confess and let God take away the guilt and shame! Now take a deep breath, look at the empty space you have cleared out, and ROYGBIV the rest! :-).
“While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up[a] as by the heat of summer.Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress,[b] the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:3-7).