cleaning out the closets...

as i have been diligently cleaning out my closets...a lesson has emerged...who knew?

having done many closet audits for clients...you would think that cleaning out my own closet would be a breeze...not so much...why do we hold on to things that serve us no purpose? it is too easy to say that we will let go of the past...the past can be like our closet...which holds all the clothes we have ever worn...all the clothes from different seasons...and all the sizes we have ever worn...each one can represent...a different aspect of the past that we need to let go of...

some of the clothes may bring laughter...how could we wear such a thing? yet we still hold on to it...it serves some memory for us...maybe the "good ole days" or a wonderful day...a relationship...they may be clothes that we wouldn't be caught dead in now...yet they remain hidden in the closet...out of sight...however...though they be hidden away...they remain...taking up room...and they are a constant reminder every time you open your closet door...dig through the clothes to find something to wear...

letting go makes room for the new...just as our closets could be crammed with clothes...our hearts and lives can be overstuffed with "junk" and preventing us from the fullness of intimacy with Christ in our lives...and all that He has intended for us...

i have had to deal with the past in so many ways this last year...it has reared its ugly head most recently in the last few weeks...in order to challenge me, mock me, ridicule me, and most of all...try and intimidate me from moving on in Him to His higher calling for my life...try and convince me to deny who my Abba Father says i really am...

if this happens to me...i am most assured it happens to others...maybe even you...

the hurt seeps through my heart...and i start to question all over again...i have let go...but i have also come to the realization of what i needed and still need to get to the point that i know Him as i am known by Him...i need to let go again...

not quite sure why most recently...people have decided to come out of the woodwork and reveal stories of the person i once loved...a part of me needs to question..why now? why was i not aware of these things before...before i gave my all...and why are these stories finding there way to me? are they things i needed to know? are they things that are just moving in to hurt me? i carefully watch the actions of these people...do they have my best interest at heart? are they just trying to hurt a persons reputation? as they continue to befriend the person they so freely reveal things about...i question the intentions...

the reality is...that alot of the stories are probably true...but they don't pertain to me anymore...but i fight the feelings of being so wrong about a person...and that part does hurt...knowing that when you thought you meant something to someone...you really didn't...you were just one of many...

it is a constant exercise...i will never be the person who wore those old clothes and neither will you...we are new creatures in Christ...and becoming newer every day in every way...the enemy would want us to believe that we are the same person...he does this by convincing us that we are unworthy, unloved or unforgivable...by rattling the chains of our past in our face...

it is so easy for us to go back to that place...to question...to re-evaluate ourselves...and our worth...this is when we need to cling to our Father...

in loving Him...we will love others...in loving Him...we will love ourselves...and in loving ourselves we will begin to realize the life He has for us...and how we allow others to treat us...

so how does this relate to cleaning out our closets? well...we must remove anything that separates us from the love of God...whether it be lies of the enemy about God...others...or our self...whether it be actual things or strongholds we need to forsake and let go of...be it our thought life, attitudes or actions...

often times seeing the issue whether it be the truth about a personal struggle...or a lie of the enemy...it will lead you to the Father...in the Father...you find the answer...once you find the answer, which is the very opposite of the struggle or the lie...you can swiftly clean it out of the closet of your heart...and make room for more of His truth...

enough is enough...time for a trip to goodwill...