Taking Out The Trash

Happy Monday! If you have linked over to my blog from the Proverbs 31 daily online devotional, then welcome friend!! And welcome back to all of my regular friends as well! I hope you will enjoy todays post and come back again to visit - and it would be even greater if you sign up as a subscriber! I would love to partner with you in focusing on Gods messages in our lives each day and getting to know you!

In keeping with todays topic of messiness, Ill take a moment to tell you about another type of messy frustration we tend to experience around my house.

Unfortunately I live in a county which does not require a leash law. At any given time, various breeds of dogs, some friendly and some not so friendly, are roaming freely around the neighborhood. They frolic and play during the day, and venture into the forbidden mysteries at night. Forbidden mysteries for dogs include important places like backyards, wood sheds, and the ever so delightful special dog treasures – trash.

Countless mornings I have walked outside to find an array of memories scattered throughout our yard – memories such as last week’s dinner leftovers, old magazines and empty toilet paper rolls. What we consider trash, the dogs consider treasures! Needless to say, I am not thanking God for dogs during these moments, instead I am hoping to locate the culprit and smack him with the broom. Then I begin to blame myself, because if I had not let the trash overflow to begin with, this big mess would have never even been available for nightly scavengers to find.

Have you ever considered that situations in our lives are often just like that scattered trash? During difficult periods of life, we allow trash to build up inside of us, such as unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, resentment, frustration, and jealousy. We allow last week’s problems or pain from childhood experiences, to scatter all over our hearts and make for a big mess. As a result, this “trash” in our soul, not only invades our heart, but overflows into our life. It not only affects us, but it has an impact on the people we come in contact with.

There have been days in my life, where I knew I was scattering my “trash” around to everyone around me. I fussed at my husband for not doing household chores (like taking out the trash!), I complained to my friend about my problems; I was impatient with my children. The trash in my heart was affecting others, my own heart and my relationship with Christ. Scripture tells us to confess our sins daily, to spend time in God’s word, and to treat and love others as we would want to be treated and loved. When our hearts are full of this soulful trash, we are not loving ourselves, therefore we are incapable of whole-heartedly loving others and our relationship with Christ is hindered as a result.

Whatever is in our heart, will eventually overflow into our life, and be displayed through our words and actions. I don’t know about you, but if I am going to scatter something all around me and my home for all to see, I certainly would prefer that it be love and kindness, than trash from my heart. Do you think it might be time for you to take out the trash?

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 (NIV)