monsters in the closet.

I have this inherent unfixable problem keeping my clothes in order. I'm not a messy person, I just can't keep my clothes where they should be at any stage in the process: hanging in the closet, folded in the drawer, or in the dirty clothes hamper.

Nope, my clothes are either wet in the washing machine, wrinkled in the dryer, on the floor of my closet, or stuck at the dry cleaners for weeks at a time and I usually only wear the same pair of jeans and comfortable t-shirts anyway.

I realize this is just another area where I'm consistently inconsistent. I have GREAT intentions but lack of followthrough and it usually takes a day to stop down, reassess, and work diligently to bring things back to order. I sorta justify it with "realizing my problem is half the battle, doing something about it is the other half". Haha. It's about serious discipline for me... earlier this year I started by making my bed every single morning. It makes all the difference too, I never realized how much that alone would help.

But why is it so much easier to toss everything on the floor of the closet, shut the door and feel satisfied with "out of sight, out of mind"? And seriously, how much more work is it to deal with it, hang it up, fold it? The more of a mess I create and ignore, the worse the problem becomes and eventually my closet/under the bed/drawers are in such chaos I can barely sleep at night. You know what I'm talking about? When things are settled, dealt with and organized, when our hidden places are clean and clear, peace and rest are easier to come by.

Maybe it's not your closet, but your heart or mind? On the surface all is fine and dandy, but within you there is disorder and destruction and a mess eating away, stealing your joy. Is it unforgiveness that has turned to bitterness and anger? I know that one really well. Is it an secret addiction that you just can't overcome? Maybe envy, pain, fear, anxiousness, depression, or doubt? I know all those too. In case no one's ever told you, you're not alone. And it's not a bad thing to open the door and let the light in on these things... to get help, to talk about it and clean out all that mess is good good good. Envision yourself right now scooping all the mess out of your closet and creating space for other far more important things. Things like peace, joy, understanding, clarity, passion, and the list goes on... it's about time, don't you think?

And if you're like me, it's gonna take a little extra time to break the convenient, quick, easy habits and discipline yourself in these sorts of things. Give yourself some slack and know that even in spite of yourself, God loves you more than you could ever dream.