April 29

Read Job 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 (skim it)
I have these two cabinets in my kitchen that are always messy. I hate that. I like my cabinets neat and tidy. I swear, I think elves show up in the middle of the night and rearrange my pots and pans into a jumble of chaos just to make my life miserable!

I also hate it when my garage and car are messy.

Closets? I like those neat as a pin too.

You would not know this if you visited my house. What I like, and what I tolerate are often two different things. In a previous devotional I talked about an inventory experience I had while I was in Los Angeles. One of the insights that sprung from that time of needed self-assessment was how I was living simultaneously with both over and under-responsibility issues. In some areas of my life, my inventory revealed a dedicated commitment to the next right thing.

I felt like John Mayer in his song Something’s Missing. He says: guitar – check; car – check, etc. Well I did that too. I was doing well in the area of exercise, nutrition, and personal devotions. I was paying appropriate attention to my children (although they might argue that I’m paying too much or too little depending on the day and their needs) and Pete and I were faithfully having fun and great date nights. But other areas I couldn’t check off with satisfaction. One of those areas was my emotional temperature. I was a bit too anxious for a person who has been given the promise of peace that passes all understanding.

Further investigation led me to some areas of irresponsibility. I was so busy in some areas, that I wasn’t taking care of my stuff. And my insides (both literally and physically) were getting messy. So after further processing, I decided my next right step was to respond appropriately to this insight (translation – don’t freak out and drive the family crazy) and rearrange my priorities just a bit.

Since then, I’ve managed to get some things straight. A bit at a time. And here’s the funny thing about it. It’s really helped my peace of mind. Not only that, doing it has taken a lot less time than I was spending worrying about it in my mind. Pete and I completely redid our master bedroom closet – in under three hours. But I can’t count the number of minutes I spent each day fretting about that closet. Why hadn’t I just taken the time and straightened it months ago? Inspired by all those endorphins of pleasure rushing through my brain, we’ve tackled other projects in much the same manner. What fun we’re having!!!

Thought for today: Honestly, there are probably some things that you’ve spent more time worrying over than it would have taken to acknowledge and resolve. I know that when we’re not living in healthy space we like having unresolved problems to distract ourselves with – but take it from me, when we do that, we’re wasting our time in needless anxiety. Even a halfway attempt at a fourth step can bring some awesome results. If you’ve been avoiding your fourth step like the plague, just do it halfway. I suspect that a half done fourth will be so rewarding that you’ll be pumped to complete it. Let me know if that works for you.

Thought for tomorrow: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLT