Clean Slate

This evening when I came home, the first thing I noticed was the unique "bareness" that appears after all the Christmas decorations are carefully stowed for another year. Life has been so busy since Christmas, (or I have been so tired, I'm not sure which!) that the decorations stayed up much longer than usual after Christmas. So now all is clean, and it seems so bare! Part of me likes the emptier spaces, and part of me wants to fill them up with something else.

The part of me that enjoys the cleanness of the post-holiday state is the part that longs for a simpler, cleaner life. Most certainly there is a part of my soul that longs for less--less to maintain, less to clean, less to worry about. This side of me wants to go through every room and remove anything that we have but perhaps have had too long, or have too much of, doesn't fit anymore or doesn't fulfill a necessary function, or that requires energy to maintain but is rarely used. I long for simplicity. I love the freedom of less. I am reminded of missions trips we have taken to places where people have ever so much less than we do, and coming home feeling like a fat, spoiled American with way too much stuff. Or taking a trip away from home for a time and realizing how little one can actually live with, and live pretty well, even--all needs met, basics of life.

The part of me that wants to fill the emptiness is the part that envisions splashes of colors or embellishments that add to the ambiance, warmth, and welcome of our home. I want my now-bare windows to have valances or other window treatments, I want to re-cover furniture or create new comforts; I want people (including us!) to feel at rest, at peace, and taken care of here. This is the part of me that wants the Father God who loves us fully to have full reign in this environment we call our home.

The great thing the Lord is showing me is that those two parts of me can most certainly coexist! He celebrates us--all of us! I can remove superfluous things and create an atmosphere that speaks of His love, His peace, His amazing care for us. I pray for the wisdom and insight to know how to do that, and the energy and obedient heart to follow through with the promptings He whispers in my heart of hearts. Proverbs tells us that it is better to have little with peace than much with strife. Holy Spirit, fill this home, and me, with the deep contentment and unexplainable peace that comes from living with You.