04 Jan Just In Case
I wonder if my house looks like yours…or am I the only one who stuffs things into cabinets, ‘just in case’ there may ever be a need? I wonder if it is a leftover behavior from not having much as a child or from the years as a single mom having even less. I pick up items (often pantry food) that will serve me well ‘just in case’ company drops by or kids come home or I need a meal in a hurry. I have hand-me-downs in every storage area of my house. No, I’m not a hoarder….well, not to excess. Or am I?
When I look at the items in my closet that I actually wear, they could take up 12 inches of rack space. When I look at the dishes I actually use on a daily basis, they fill one cabinet. When I look at the small appliances that have collected dust on a shelf, I wonder…why? Why do I collect items and food?
Throughout my life I’ve had invasions of ants, spiders, mice and even two legged pests that took our lawn mower. Then one year it was a new critter – moths. They are destructive little boogers. Yet for me, they served as a gentle reminder:
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)
Maybe I’m not alone. Is it time to clean out the ‘just in case’ items in your life? For me, it’s time to simplify, to clean my home, my life, and ask Jesus to clean my heart of the undesirable things.
Lord, I want to store up treasures in heaven.
In His grip,
Luann Prater
The Afternoon Drive