I used to be so caught up in appearances. I really, really wanted to be the one whom everyone looked at and thought, Isn’t she amazing? How does she do it? But God wasn’t concerned about that or about how content or organized I was. He didn’t care how clean my house was or how together I appeared. He wanted to do some closet cleaning, a spring cleaning like I never expected.
As I struggled, prayed and surrendered, I felt God’s pleasure. I felt His smile upon me when I shared with teen moms that I still had the same issues but that God was cleaning my heart. The more I gave…to others and to God…the cleaner I felt. It’s been said that a messy house is evidence of a messy heart, but it was just the opposite for me. The more I got my heart in order, the more God urged me to move beyond my safe, happy little world.
After I started volunteering (at a crisis pregnancy center), my perfect house didn’t remain so perfect. Instead of scrubbing the tub until it shined, I trained volunteers and helped to remodel our new center. My kids couldn’t keep up their rooms because they were working beside me, folding blankets and stacking diapers. Now I’m comfortable if the floor only gets swept once a week or the mail stacks up for two. My clean heart equals a messy house, and you know what? I’m okay with that.
I used to hide the truth—my struggles, my feelings of insecurity—in the back of my perfectly arranged closets. But not anymore. Now my husband John tells me I don’t have any skeletons in my closet—because I display them on the lawn.
And, while I don’t like seeing dog puke and stepping over it or watching the tower of laundry topple over as I head out the door, I’ve come to realize that those things don’t matter as much as people—whether it be the people in my house or those in my community and my world. Like my friend Twyla says, “You fight dirt your whole life and then they bury you in it.” The fight to have everything clean will always be a fight, but it’s a fight that we can tackle with the wisdom of God. Wisdom to know when enough is enough.
What about you? Messy or clean?
Excerpt © Tricia Goyer, Blue Like Play Dough
Definitely lean more toward messy. My mom taught me: “One thing about dirt – it waits for you. Your kids don’t. They grow up.”
Excellent post! I’m a detail-oriented person myself. Piles of laundry and dirty closets don’t exactly make my day. But I’m learning, like you, that the important things in life are the people. At the end of the day, they’re always what matters most.
Love the post!!! And so need the reminder! Yes, the more we invest in others the messier my house becomes:D
Can I send this post to my husband and say, “See, Darling–I knew all my mess was for a good reason!”
Great post, very thought provoking.
Thanks for this excellent post, Tricia! I feel that I still need to let God do some house cleaning in my heart…I’ll come a distance, then put Him on hold. So thankful that he doesn’t give up on me though!
So, you mean my clean house is not an indication of how I run my life? I am sooo glad. Thanks for this great post, Tricia! Blessings and hugs, Felice
Thanks for sharing!
I needed to be reminded of this!
Gotta go…. my kids are growing up before my eyes!
I teeter between messy and clean. I’m organized and like a picked up straightened house so you can walk in and my house appears together. But honestly, you could write your name in my dust and knit a kitten from the dust bunnies. I tend to use cleaning as procrastivity…stuff I do instead of what I should be doing, or what I THINK I should be doing.
Someone once told me, a mess is a sign of an interesting person and I tend to agree, at least my messy friends are to me. The older I get the more relaxed, entertained, amused, and amazed I am by the lessons I get to learn by taking time.
I sure am enjoying your writing!
i hate a dirty house, truly but its probably because i dont like looking at all that sin. So if it needs be dirty so i can CLEAN IT UP, so be it. I’d rather have a dirty house than a dirty heart..somedays anyway.