August 5, 20205 – Leisure
The daughter of a friend of mine started a new business helping women with their closets: refreshing them, putting together outfits, and helping to buy new items. Tina and her mom came over today to do more than a refresh of my very cluttered closet. When they first arrived, I said I would apologize only once for what a mess it is and then proceeded to explain why it is such a mess. I really wanted to straighten up in there before they got here, but I simply didn’t because I’m that worn out by it.
Before they arrived, I had begun questioning whether I really needed to do this and whether I needed to spend money on something I can do – something I think I can do – something I want to be able to do BUT haven’t been able to succeed at each time I’ve tried. I have just let this clutter stagnate rather than reaching out for help. This effort may be the impetus for more of the decluttering needed in our home. People tend to not want to spend money to make needed improvements (in their homes, businesses, and lives in general), but they don’t realize that spending money could save them money and time and frustration etc in the long run.
She asked me what my goal was for today and I said I just want to be able to hang clothes up again. Things were so tight in there that some of the clothes were hanging on door knobs and hooks or hanging from other hangers blocking me from seeing my clothes. She was not daunted and made a plan to begin sorting (piles with clothes that seemed current and stylish, piles of maybes, and piles of let-‘em-go if-you-can clothes) so I left them to it because I was daunted. What a relief to walk away and not have to decide anything. It was a bigger relief to walk in my closet later and not feel everything crowding in on me.
While they were working, I finished my devotions and started to work on this blog. I began to feel like the Karina character in the book I’ve been listening to. I couldn’t get my words to flow today. I was going to explain why but I was even stalled trying to finish this sentence. I made what I thought were some insightful notes in my journal as I was reading my devotions, but they were not transferring very well to the blog. So, rather than continuing to attempt being introspective at this late hour of the day and rather than leaving today blank, I decided to just share what spoke to me from the devotions.
Streams – Cowman quotes a story by H.W. Webb Peploe in which he tells about kneeling in anguishing prayer after the death of his child and hearing God’s message from 2Corinthians 12:9, “My grace IS sufficient for you.” (The emphasis is mine – and his as he details in the devotion.)
JA – “Look to Me and My Strength; seek My Face always….let your heart rejoice….Glorifying Me will strengthen and delight you, bringing Power to your prayers and Joy to your heart.”
Power – Today’s devotion makes me think of a book I picked up in an airport recently and was reading Tuesday while I was waiting for my appointments, 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue by Deborah Smith Pegues. The verse for today is 1Corinthians 5:11 – “But now I write to you to not associate with anyone who bears the name of [Christian] brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality or greed….” The verse even says not to eat with “such a person.” With a sinner? Like Zacchaeus? I understand that “Bad company corrupts good morals” (1Corinthians 15:33), but I was thinking that this applied to our inner circles. I guess it helps us be aware in all of our circles. Joyce writes, “Don’t be passive and let other people influence you with their bad attitudes and evil conversation, but instead make a decision to be a good influence on them.”
Utmost – “God called Jesus Christ to what seemed unmitigated disaster….But what seemed like failure from man’s standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God’s, because God’s purpose is never man’s purpose….The call of God is like the call of the sea, no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him.” Tina felt the call to help people with their wardrobes (and to tackle my closet. I haven’t even heard a whisper about that closet lately! But maybe she didn’t feel the call to blog like I do. We have to listen for His leading and lean into His purposes for our lives.) “As we go on in the Christian life it gets simpler, because we are less inclined to say – ‘Now why did God allow this and that?’…There’s a divinity that shapes our ends.” I’m glad to be learning this more and more but I sure wish I’d taken it to heart earlier in my life.
Chambers continues, “If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the leisureliness which ought to characterize the children of God.” (Perhaps I’m overthinking during my devotion time and am trying to impart too much of me into this blog and that’s why I’m somewhat frozen. Lord, I want Your ways and Your words not mine.) Who would ever think “leisure” in relation to Christian life? Isn’t it service and burden – no – we are told to be like children who are quite leisurely as they trust their parents to take care of them. We are to trust and love and honor our heavenly Father like that.
There is a responsibility side to our lives as well. Prevail 217 points out from Haggai 2:4 – “Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” The people of Judah had lost their drive (like me with my closet, and my laundry room, and my garage…and my blog today) but they “returned to God and reengaged in His purposes. They stepped back into the powerful river of His provision.”
Max – “Jesus sends this message to you: ’When you pass through the waters, I will be with you….you can have peace in the midst of the storm.’ ” Thank You for Your peace while I was wondering what was going on with my writing today.
JC – “Make your mind like a still pool of water, ready to receive whatever thoughts I drop into it.” Ok…that’s what I didn’t do this morning as I was hurrying through my readings and making my notes about what I would write in my blog. I wasn’t really talking with Him like I usually do. I was preparing. I thought my thoughts rather than waiting for what He would speak to me and allow me to bring to the blog. “Do not wear yourself out worrying about [whatever you’re worrying about]….keep looking at Me….Take time to rest by the wayside….A leisurely pace accomplishes more than a hurried striving.” This makes me think back to the thoughts from Streams that I may have minimized in favor of my own thoughts. His grace IS sufficient for me in all that I do…and I do need to tame my tongue!
(Note: When I realized I was spinning my wheels trying to write, I listened to the end of my book as I opened up the bags and boxes Tina and her mother had put aside. I was only going to pull out the things I was willing to let go of, but the pile of gotta-keeps-at-least-for-now grew quite large. I’m a work in progress! https://www.primmastyledco.com/)
