[Faith-talk] {Spam?} Daily Thought for Thursday, May 26, 2016

[Ericka]

This reminds me of a devotional from Bible Gateway a while back. I'm working on this.

Ericka Short
"What is right is not always popular; what is popular is not always right."

 from my iPhone 6s

> On May 26, 2016, at 11:18 AM, Paul Smith via Faith-talk <faith-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello and greetings to you from an abnormally warm Baltimore, at least it's that way compared to the normal high at this time of year.  I hope that you all are doing well today, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.
> 
> As promised yesterday, here is a similar type of article to the one you read then.  It was written by yet another Canadian author, Marianne Jones, and the title of her contribution is "Removing the Obstacles," rendered as follows:
> 
> I've always been a slob.  Somehow, the tidying gene was absent from my DNA.  This was always a source of frustration to my sister, who does have the gene and was forced to share a bedroom with me throughout adolescence.  My mother tried to nag the perhaps dormant gene into action, but it fell on deaf ears.  I just didn't care whether I selected my outfits from the closet or the floor, or I climbed into a made or unmade bed at night.
> 
> This didn't create too many problems for me when I had a family of my own.  My kids enjoyed a happy childhood, where they could make salt-clay sculptures and paper confetti to their hearts' delight without Mom pestering them about making a mess.  My husband, fortunately, was not a neat-freak himself, and since I was talented in the cooking department and managed to keep him supplied with clean socks, he counted his blessings.
> 
> So I was surprised one morning to have the distinct thought "remove the obstacles" echo in my mind as I contemplated the trail of objects blocking my way to the bedroom closet.  It was such a clear, authoritative thought that I obeyed.  More startling, however, was the sense that this was about more than housekeeping alone.
> 
> Depression and unrealized goals had been a way of life for me as long as I could remember.  As I began to contemplate the "obstacles" in my heart, I saw that accumulated resentments, fears, and distorted thoughts about God cluttered my interior world.  Pursuing the life I wanted, a life of optimism, joy, and fulfillment was going to require some major spiritual and emotional housecleaning.
> 
> Since that moment I have come to understand that there is a psychological and spiritual value to order and organization in my household. My cluttered home was a reflection of my cluttered, unfocused mind.  My home had been strewn with half-finished projects, half-red books, and half-cleaned rooms.  I was often tired, frustrated, and depressed, the result of starting things in the blaze of energy and optimism created by new beginnings, but lacking the self-discipline to complete them.
> 
> Finding tidiness a constant challenge, I asked a friend what her secret was.  She told me she put everything away immediately after using it.  Everything? It sounded much too difficult and unattainable for me.  But I noticed that as I allowed a few objects to pile up, a few quickly became many.  The result was that I would feel defeated by the mountain of mess before I began.  Tidying my house as I went started to make some sense.
> 
> Tidying as I go spiritually is just as important.  It is essential for me that I release anger and unforgiveness daily.  If I ever entertain the least of these attitudes, my "house" becomes filled overnight with confusion, darkness, and a lot of other things that smell of something less attractive than the "sweet fragrance of Christ."
> 
> I used to fear that becoming tidy would be a joyless, exhausting grind of endless sweeping, straightening, and dusting.  In fact, perfectionism is one of the obstacles that I have cheerfully put out with the trash! It's not about the endless strain of trying to attain the unattainable; it's about making my environment easier and more fun for me to live in.
> 
> Jesus did away once and for all with the need of perfectionism when He died on the cross.  I don't need to beat myself up for failing to live up to some impossible standard.  But He does invite me to a freer, happier life where I no longer have to tolerate being defeated by a mountain of clutter in my path.  After all these years, housework--both internal and external--has become a joy!
> 
> And there you have Marianne's article which I trust was a blessing for you today.  Until tomorrow when, Lord willing another daily thought message and article will be posted, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul
> 
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