Yesterday I spent the day cleaning out closets. I know, a thrill a minute, such excitement! WooHoo! This was not a chore I was looking forward to, believe me. As I was emptying them, I was stunned that I had let things get this bad. I had not been paying attention to what was going where.
As I worked, organizing piles of mittens, shoes, sweaters, coats, etc., my mind wandered and I started thinking about how closets are a great metaphor for our interior life.
Now, I am no spiritual genius. I am as big a sinner as anyone else, so please don't think I know more than you. I strive each day to do my best, to be the woman God is calling me to be. However, there is many a day when I just want to close my closet door and not let ANYONE see what's going on on the inside.
It's filled with chaos. Nothing is in it's proper place. I have chosen to just throw things in there and shut the door as fast as I can so I don't have to look at all the clutter and confusion. Then when I need something, I open it up as carefully as I can to avoid the avalanche of stuff coming at me.
Isn't this what it feels like when we are disordered in our prayer life? When we have strayed from our conversations with God? This is what it feels like to me. I put one foot in front of the other and I trudge through thinking I can do it all. Then a crisis or challenging situation comes along and the closet door bursts open spilling all that insanity out and you stand there stunned not knowing what to do next.
I need to retrieve my soul out of the mess. I need to excavate, restore the order, dust and wipe out all the sin, so I can put things back in the right way. I can only do that if I am in conversation with God. He is my restorer! He is my peace! He is the Great Re-Organizer!
We have to be brave and actually open the closet door, even if that means we will be drowning in junk. Have faith in God to walk you though it. You can't fix something if you can't see it. This starts with Confession. The sacrament is so powerful, and it's readily available for all of us. It will restore grace and peacefulness to your lives. It's like hauling out a big bag of trash or donating to Good Will. It's gone, forever, not to return.
We need to pray for perseverance and constant guidance to make sure we are "right with God". That we aren't letting the junk of unforgiveness, gluttony, pride or anything else build up so much, that we can't open that door anymore without getting clobbered.
We need to make good choices about what to put in there, where it goes and why? You want it to be as functional as possible or else it's not doing anyone any good. It's just more clutter.
This is what God is calling us to do in our daily walk with him. To throw open that closet door, shine His light into the deepest part and restore all things to order and peace.
Who knew that cleaning out the closets would teach me something about prayer and perseverance? I will never think of closets the same way again! What's in your closet?
Blessings,
Mary
