Cleaning house...

As we approach fall, and enjoy the beauty of the leaves changing, apple picking, pumpkin everything, and cooler weather...I find myself with an urge...to purge!

Maybe it's the need to switch out 7 people clothes from summer to fall. Maybe it's the desire to prepare to "hunker down" and get ready for winter. Whatever the cause, the stir crazy desire to take multiple items and chuck them out the window has taken over!

The thing about stuff...it multiplies...it reproduces... And it grows more and more as our family grows...

So will I feel better once I have purged the stuffed animals for the one hundredth time this year? Will I have peace when I have downsized the kids wardrobes, shoes & socks to enough for a week? Will my laundry decrease? Will all be right in my world...

Probably not.

Not because I am tending towards the negative, not because I have lost hope, not because I'm going to quit before I start...

But as usual the normal, seemingly mundane requirements of my everyday life are calling me to look within. 

To stop & think. 

What does my interior house look like? Is it ordered? Is it peaceful? 

What do I need to purge? What things am I holding onto that would be better off thrown out?

Could it be the stresses of the day that I have not surrendered? Could it be the times I have failed as a wife and mom to be loving & patient? Maybe it is unforgiveness towards someone is still causing me anxiety... Or even greater unforgiveness towards myself?

Fall is a beautiful time of year when the leaves change... But think about why they change? They are dying... They are preparing for winter...and eventually in spring they will be beautiful reminders of new life. 

So no matter how neat, clean,organized & purged my house.... If its not the same in my heart than peace will not last...

Will I purge my stuff? Yes, of course! But I am also working on purging the inside...taking the time to examine my heart, surrender the junk, and be open to the Grace...

And in that to find freedom in the chaos of my day...because I am safe & at peace within...

Lord please help me to let go, to surrender the junk and to be patient as I wait for the spring. Please give me your love, your trust, your love, for I cannot do this alone....thank you Lord...your Grace is sufficient.