Time To Declutter?

When I started my wallpaper eradication project, I committed to decluttering as a part of the whole process.

In other words, I expected my husband to get rid of many of his books, notebooks, papers and mementos, my sons to take all of their belongings that were stored in our attic, garage and bedrooms, and my daughter to take most of her things that were taking up closet space.

It was a bonus that they also took furniture.

My old desk left for Texas. Then I gave away two bookcases. Suddenly one wall of our bedroom became mostly open space, and Pat (the one who moved the painting that started this project months ago) [link] decided that he wanted to rotate our bed 90 degrees from the position that it had occupied for 21 years! AND he had already decided what color he wanted me to paint the room!

Pat had gone from “being stressed” to meddling!! Now my personal space was being impacted … and of course I wasn’t pleased.

If we rotated the bed, we gained legroom but I lost any potential for replacing my old desk. That desk was my “staging area” for things that needed to be carried downstairs … or put away … or filed … or mended … or read … or whatever. It was on my side of the bed, it was my private space, I was already feeling lost without it … and now Pat wanted to rotate the bed to occupy MY SPACE!

Decluttering isn’t any fun when I am the one having to change.

I’m guessing that I’m not alone in the ability to overlook my own clutter. Busyness, possessions, debt, unhealthy relationships, excesses of all kinds can become “clutter.” And that kind of clutter can impact our relationships with others and hinder our own spiritual growth.

But honestly, isn’t it easier to ignore the obvious … no matter how detrimental it may be to us and to others … than it is to commit to change?

We rotated the bed. What a difference it made in the look and feel of the room! And it decreased the probability of my falling back into old habits.

What’s going to be your strategy for doing the same?

Pastor Kit

Who Are You?

Our living room is having an identity crisis. One wall has been painted a “warm” yellowish green but three walls are still covered with “cool” blue and white wallpaper. The window valence along the green wall has been redone in “warm” Mediterranean colors while the other windows in the room still sport “cool” Cape Cod-style curtains.

There simply isn’t any way to reconcile the contrasting styles and colors in the same room. Pat even has gone so far as to say that he feels a bit nauseated when he looks up from his desk and sees the point where the green wall, the blue and white wall, and the newly painted terracotta wall in the foyer all come together.

It's one thing to paint a house when it is empty, but I am stripping wallpaper and painting the inside of our house while we are still here! And we are finding that it is difficult to carry on with our normal routines in the midst of the process. To keep Pat from being overly stressed by “That Messy Part In The Middle,” [link] I have been taking the time to complete all of the details in one area before moving on to the next section… hence the different window treatments in the same room. But it truly is unsettling when we let our eyes shift from the new to the old and see the contrast.

Some Christians go through a similar identity crisis… old habits are still in place while the Holy Spirit is “making renovations.” Oftentimes the contrast between the two is jarring and ugly. A new hope, attitude and countenance may try to co-exist with profanity, questionable habits, and other excesses. But there must come a time when there is a commitment to make a complete transition from the old to the new. Thoughts, words, and deeds must change to reflect a life committed to holiness. For if the old nature is allowed to persist, it will negate the reformation and the witness… and better serve the purpose of the enemy than that of the Savior.

Lord willing, my living room will one day be completely transitioned from the old to the new, and Pat and I will no longer have to live with the unsettling contrasts. But what about your friends and family… how much longer are they going to have to live with your identity crisis? When are you going to commit to a complete renovation by the Holy Spirit?

Pastor Kit

What Is Your True Color?

I had my first paint “redo” this past week. I had decided to paint one wall green and one wall yellow in our living room. Pat and I didn’t have much difficulty agreeing on a shade of green, but we weren’t in agreement on the shade of yellow. Pat wanted me to try the light yellow that I had used in our brightly lit kitchen… I had plenty of that left over.

So I painted the newly-prepped wall the same shade of yellow as the kitchen to see if the light yellow would work in the living room with our green wall.

In sunshine, the wall was obviously yellow. But as conditions changed throughout the day, so did the color of the wall. Sometimes it looked light yellow, but more often it looked off white or cream colored. Every time the lighting in the room changed, so did the color of the wall. It simply wasn’t going to stay a true yellow color under all lighting conditions!

I know some “light yellow” Christians… and I was one myself once. The color of my witness was pretty much determined by the company I was keeping. Socially, I was more concerned about “blending in” than I was about witnessing to my Christian faith.

But one day I identified myself as a believer to another Christian at a social gathering. To my chagrin, her response was a surprised look and an exclamation of “You are!!?”

The Holy Spirit used that response to convict me of my need to stay true to my beliefs and values at all times and in all circumstances. I needed to have credibility as a witness for Christ.

I painted over the light yellow with a darker shade… a yellow that is so “yellow” that we decided that one yellow wall would be enough. Now as the light changes throughout the day, the color stays true. Can the same be said of you?

Pastor Kit

Just Ask God

Two weeks ago I was feeling overwhelmed. The wallpaper eradication project was taking far longer than I had ever expected. The holidays were upon us. Mother's care was a constant charge. My responsibilities were greater than my resources.

During one of my few “quiet times” (while raking storm blow-down from the back yard) I asked the Lord to help me shift my focus. He did more than that. He sent me an encourager.

It happened this way. Son Nathan stopped by the house with his wife Amanda and his mother-in-law Cathy. In some ways Cathy and I are exact opposites … she is an upbeat EXUBERANT extrovert while I am a reserved introspective introvert. The unexpected visit from Cathy turned out to be exactly what I needed that day.

Cathy had not been to our house since I had started the wallpaper eradication project in October. All of it was new to her, and she could still remember the old patterns and colors. Cathy is also a “details person.” She has been the stage manager for many community theater plays. Perhaps because of this, she recognized and commented on nearly all of the changes in every room. So as I walked with Cathy from room to room and listened to her enthusiastic comments, it began to sink in how much had changed in only a few short months.

Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees!! I was so focused on reaching my new goal that I had lost my perspective on how far I had already come on this wallpaper journey … and that I had long ago passed the initial goal that I had set for myself in October.

God sent Cathy my way at just the right time to say just the right things. She had no idea that I was struggling to stay motivated to finish. She wasn’t trying to think of ways to encourage me. She was just being her usual exuberant self. And that was exactly what I needed to get me back on track … the right person at the right time to give me a fresh perspective on what had already been accomplished … and how close the finish line really was.

Where have you lost your perspective lately? With your children … your marriage … your work … your finances … your health … your grief? Ask God to send someone your way who can help you focus beyond the present circumstances. Someone who can see and celebrate the positives … the accomplishments that are presently eluding you. Someone who can see how far you have already come and how close that finish line really is.

Or maybe you are to be that someone for another.

Just ask God.

Pastor Kit