Walking in Truth

She gets it from me.

A month or so ago, I was trying once again to help my daughter clean her room. To say it was a mess is an understatement. I am not an OCD person, but I seriously think my blood pressure goes up each time I embark on this endeavor of cleaning. I usually find lots of crumbled up paper. Sometimes there are things from outdoors- rocks, wood, grass. Dirty clothes are often found under the covers, at the foot of the bed, or just under the bed. Crackers, pizza, and candy have been left lying around. Sometimes things are hidden under her pillows or under the rug in her room. I usually get to a point where I've had all I can take, and leave her with a garbage bag- or two. 

It was just a few days later, when I was looking for my Charlie Brown Christmas shirt (and it was not in the drawer that I thought it should be), when the Lord clearly said and in my head I repeated back to Him, "Oh, Lord. She gets it from me." Now this was just a minor infraction on my part. I had simply let my drawers become "unorganized." Much like my closet, my cabinets, my "junk drawer." 

The voice really spoke loud and clear when I was trying to clean up for the Sunday School teacher Christmas party at our house. We had been busy up until the day of the party, so as I raced home after school, I busied myself with the cleaning, thankful that Jason had done the cooking. 
As I got to the last minute details-(you know, lighting the candles, making the last run-through with the broom, wiping down the countertops), I noticed a basket that sits on the hearth by our door. It had become a "junk basket." Doesn't everyone have one of those?

So what did I do? I found a quilt, folded it neatly and placed it over the basket to conceal the contents inside.
Just like my daughter, I was just covering up my mess.

I pondered on these things for a few days. I thought about my life, her life, and those around me who (like me) were all good at covering up stuff and sweeping things under the rug. Things that, if revealed, might make us look messy. We want a certain "image," and to protect that image, we cover it with a blanket so no one sees what's really inside. However, the problem is that there are real issues, usually messy ones, which we try to hide. It's easier to just throw a quilt or rug over it. Another problem- we know what's under it. That was the first lesson God was teaching me.

The second: as I considered my organization skills, or the lack thereof, I wondered what else had I passed on to Presley. What am I teaching my children? What are we talking about when we sit at home, when we walk along, when we lie down and get up? What spiritual, Biblical truths are written on the door frames of my home and heart that my children are seeing daily? (Deu. 11:19-20)

As we approach yet another "New Year," the answer lies within a traditional present Jason's mom gives us at Christmas. For the past several years, she has given us something with a word that was meaningful to the family for that year. Some have been the Ebenezer stone, Help, Hope, Healer, Content.
This years was Courageous and Walk in Truth.

The two go hand in hand. It takes courage to walk in Truth. Certainly, we know that we may stand alone when walking in Truth, because the Word tells us that narrow is the Way that leads to life, and few find it. (Matt. 7:14)
To walk in Truth also means I have to lift up the rug, remove the blanket. That takes courage, because then our mess may be seen by others. 

I pray it's not a New Year's Resolution, but a "New Day's Resolution." That everyday, I resolve to be Courageous and Walk in Truth.

I'm thankful that I have a Father who will come into my messy rooms, lift up the rug if I let Him, and sweep away the filth. I pray as I walk in the Truth of His grace, love and forgiveness, His light will shine upon my own children, and they too will daily walk in His Truth. More than anything, that is what I want passed on to them.