Day Six

 "Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me." - Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

Today, as I type, before the sun rises, I am surrounded by a mess. I've been painting. Slowly, painting rooms in our home. Before we put up our Christmas tree I wanted to get the dining and living room painted, at least where we will want to put the tree. 

Liz is also still finishing school up before her break, and her desk and computer are in the dining room, so everything is scrunched together, so I can prime and paint. 

As I cover cabinets and walls with primer and paint, and new handles, I am also slowly decluttering some of the spaces. This is messy business. And doesn't happen in one take. And I am limited to my own piles, and the community ones that have been created because of items left haphazardly around. The things no one seems to care about. 

As I work, it is a sweet opportunity for me to be quiet. To pray, to practice being present. And I am continually reminded that the piles of this and that, the stains, didn't happen overnight. And a new coat of paint creates an external calm and improvement, but the decluttering and organizing has to happen, otherwise everything will get moved back, and the effort will be lost.

So like our hearts and minds. God, create in me a new heart, so that your work and me can come to completion, not just bandaids and cover-ups. 

What "junk" is hardest to let go of in your own life?

Completely random early morning thought below...

Today is the day before Thanksgiving in the states. When our kids were young, I would lead them through the story of the one corn kernel. We even would put on a play, with homemade paper hats, straight out of Martha Stewart's magazine.