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Did you ever notice that sometimes when you get an idea to do something, it morphs into quite a project? We’re in the midst of that at our house.
Some months ago, I had an idea on how to redecorate our bedroom. The furniture is fine, but the wall color and lamp size just weren’t working…and I came up with an idea. After looking at Pinterest for what I thought I wanted, I finally showed the pictures to my husband. He actually agreed to build a board-and-batten feature wall behind the bed! My birthday is in December, at which time we purchased the wood for the wall. He also thought it would be a good time to replace the carpet with flooring, so he presented me with a bag of samples. We have new lamps that fit with larger lampshades and USB ports and are dimmable and touch lamps. So cool! What a change! We’re getting started on the wall and the painting project, flooring to be done soon.
Meanwhile, our son made it clear that our den furniture was no longer comfortable. He’s right, but we didn’t realize how much so, kind of like the frog in the cooking pot doesn’t realize it’s getting hotter. For Christmas, dear hubby has given me a promise of new den furniture and he means NOW. The project list is growing, as the den also needs painting. (Fortunately, it already has the flooring.) We’ve since replaced the old with new and even found two end tables at a flea market that complete the look. All we lack now is the coffee table. We are quite pleased with how it’s taking shape. By the way, we already had all the paint from the last big project for both rooms, so that was a bonus!
In this process, we’re also purging unneeded items. Too many books we don’t read any more, puzzles that have been done multiple times, and things we don’t have any idea why we have them in the first place—they’re all finding new homes. How do we accumulate so much STUFF? I thought I’d done a lot of “getting rid of” when we moved twice, gave away much, and had yard sales at church! What started out as an idea is becoming a very consuming project (or two!). Our kids have been begging us to do this so they won’t have to weed through it when “that day” comes. Some things bring memories, others are dispensable. How does this stuff accumulate? Do we notice that it even happens?
I was thinking about an old booklet I’d read in the mid-1970’s called “My Heart, Christ’s Home,” by Robert Munger. You can find it online in PDF form (free) by doing a search, and I would encourage you to read it. In the story, the man starts with a new relationship with Jesus and as he begins to go figuratively through each “room,” he finds things that have slowly hindered that fellowship. I won’t spoil it for you but suffice it to say that some changes needed to be made.
“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” Ephesians 3:16-17
The inner man—our hearts—that’s where that fellowship takes place. I look around my house and see that I have a lot of work to do! When I look at my heart, there is even MORE purging and arranging and straightening. Indifference. Intolerance. Bad habits. On and on…. Some things take more than paint. Am I serious about my relationship with Christ? How do I spend my time? What do I THINK about the most? How do I spend our money? It’s not enough to do Bible study, to do acts of service, to worship the Lord, to fellowship with other believers—how about just sitting with my Friend Jesus? Am I aware that He dwells in my heart?
I sincerely hope that I can be more excited about the newness in my walk with Jesus within than I am about the newness of the appearance of our house.
