Bubble Wrap

Spring is approaching and along with that event comes the ritual of spring cleaning. Over the long and cold winter we tend to acquire piles of things that get thrown into the basement or garage. I'm not a pack-rat but I do have a lot of materials that I save to do projects and I'm still in the process of organizing my home after a cross country move. There are pieces of memorabilia from my past along with items of value and gifts from loved ones. There just is not enough room to have everything displayed so some of it must be stowed away. I can't help but notice my process as I secure my belongings. The items that are replaceable get rolled up in paper and stacked quickly in a regular box yet the belongings that are more unique and priceless to me are carefully bubble wrapped and gently placed into a sturdier box. What we treasure is handled with much more care.

Often as I go through this process I am reminded that my heart also needs an inventory. As we go through our busy lives we tend to let many unnecessary and unhealthy things accumulate in our hearts. Maybe we have replaced some of our precious time with God with too much mindless t.v. or our diets have allowed food to replace health, honesty and repair of our body and souls. I know that the winter catapults me into hibernation rather than going out and serving others. Bad habits and mindlessness become my companions as I sloth through my days.

Spring is a time of hope, repair, openness and change! There is nothing like that first warm day when the birds are singing, the air is fresh and all of nature seems alive to get us out of our funk. I was telling my grand-daughter and sister-in-law the other day (using the Internet and the storage cloud as examples), that we need to organize all that stuff in our lives that is floating aimlessly around in our minds. All of it seems so fragmented just hovering in our thoughts and confusing us everyday, causing us to feel overwhelmed as to where to start. Just pull one thing at a time down onto your desktop and deal with just that. One thing at a time. My saying is, "It's better to do something small than nothing at all." One task that is dealt with each week is 52 things addressed and taken care of each year.

Some of the things up in our "cloud" can be resolved, some thrown out and some can be swaddled in bubble wrap and stored for another day. Take those things which are precious and valuable to your heart and protect them. All the other things are just tasks and garbage that either need to be addressed or deleted. Our hearts, souls and bodies are valuable to God so they need to be treated with respect. Take some time this Spring to not only busy yourself with cleaning your home... but to pull away in some quiet moments to let God clean out your spiritual house. Nothing feels better than freedom! Freedom from all the unnecessary "things" that clutter our lives.

Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in Heaven where moth and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

2 Corinthians 4:18, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

God bubble wraps our hearts and minds with His peace because they are precious to Him.

The Donut Hole

Picture yourself being a beautiful cake with luxurious frosting and colored sprinkles all over the top! You feel whole and fantastic! The cake represents your soul with its warm, soft and pillowy texture. It's the safe place in the center of your life. The place from where "Who you are" grows! The frosting is what holds you together, similar to our control habits that we exercise in keeping our life from falling apart. The sprinkles are our relationships, activities, and rituals. The steady constants that our daily life revolves around. A pretty little cake that is all put together nicely and suits our lifestyle just fine.

Then, some circumstance comes along and blows a hole right through your center and turns you into a donut in a blink of an eye.  A gaping hole that empties your soul, leaves you out of control and scatters all that you knew to be normal spread out before you in collateral damage!

Have you watched the news lately? The world is falling apart bit by bit and it leaves us feeling shocked and fearful. However, when those blasts hit us close to our own lives it is quite different. It's then personal and the pain is inescapable. I often watch on television these interviews with students or parents...who have just lost a precious friend or child and I immediately say, "I cannot imagine." I secretly thank God that my prayers right then are for someone else and not for me and my family. How do they bear it? How are they even standing? The empathy I feel for them is even too much for my mind and heart to comprehend.

In this day and age we are so exhausted from trying to hold everything together. We whisper prayers like "Oh God, please keep calamity from our door!", weakening our spiritual life with worry as we live defensively and offensively. Our physical beings are drained from trying to protect our children from harm. If they leave our sight for a second we panic and scurry to find them. Mentally we are frazzled due to the demanding pressures of surviving and emotionally we are barraged with other peoples grief not to mention our own. All the while we are trying to present our selves as perfect little cupcakes.

The donut hole exists in all of us and no one can escape the trials of life. It's what we fill that hole with that counts. Jesus says, "In this world you will have tribulation. But, take heart! I have overcome the world."  For every sorrow, claim a joy! For every complaint, counteract it with gratitude!... Don't let the world fill your soul but let the hope and love of Christ dwell there. Be honest and humble with others as you let them see you without all the frosting. Your vulnerability can be a healing force for someone else. Take your shattered dreams and brokenness to the ONE who redeems! We don't have to live with a damaged soul. Jesus gives us a choice, whether we choose our own way or His, we always have a choice of how we will react to pain and loss.

My granddaughter and I made a cake for a party but we were running late and didn't let it cool all the way. When we went to turn it out of the pan it fell apart! We had a choice right then of how to react. We rolled handfuls into little balls and put frosting on them. We made donut holes. It's a simple metaphor but it can serve us in all our calamities. Jesus can make a message out of any mess if we let Him.

Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..."

Job 8:21, "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy!"