My Personal Allegory

I wake each morning in my bedroom. The sun shines through the window to gently wake me. It sings to my heart a song of morning joy that cries out to give thanks to the God Who made me. I stretch and begin to feel my blood flow through my veins more rigorously. I open my eyes and lay in wonder that so many hours have passed by in such a short moment. I am not only rested, but rejuvenated.

My bedroom is one of my favorite rooms in my house. It contains some of my most precious memories in physical form: pictures of family; two cross stitch pictures my daughter made me (one of the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 – reminds me each morning to fill the day with love rather than self, and the other of Ruth's declaration of love, which was on our wedding invitations); jewelry given to me by my wonderful husband, children, grandchildren, friends and some that were passed down by my grandmothers; a bedroom set purchased by my husband specifically because I liked it more than any other I had seen, even though he could have purchased another set much cheaper; my books and so on. The list is long but filled with precious memories. It is this room I go to when sad, lonely, frustrated, exhausted or a combination. I also go there when I am joyous, wanting to read, to spend time in quiet with God, to speak with my momma on the phone, to spend time alone with my husband and not to mention sleep. Yes, I love spending time in my bedroom. If my house were a church building (and it is, since we ARE the church) it would be the altar where we go for individual worship.

My house actually has three bedrooms. We use the other two when people spend the night. They are where they go to be alone in quiet contemplation before God. They too are altars, so to speak.

I also have a living-room. It is here I go to NOT be alone. When I am in this room there should be noise, preferably people noises; laughter, singing, talking, sharing, doing skits and turning somersaults, hugging and telling stories. This is the sanctuary – the place of joint worship. It is here people come in, sit down and begin the journey of sharing all God's blessings with each other. It is the first room people enter from the front of the house, and the one they usually leave from, hopefully feeling refreshed and energized from the experience.

Then there is my kitchen. Here is the fellowship hall. It is here people come to cook together, eat together and laugh, laugh and laugh again. Sometimes there are tears of reflection, but mostly there is great joy. The more people sitting around the table sharing stories and eating, the more laughter!!

I have two bathrooms. There is a good reason for this in my life. A lot of waste goes through my body. I drink a lot of water to rid myself of all unnecessary waste. I spend time in those bathrooms and it is not fun, but I do feel much better when I leave. I especially feel better when a good shower is included in the evening. I not only get rid of inside waste, but cleanse my body of the filth that has deposited itself on my outside. I go to my sanctuary feeling happy and clean and ready to rest once again. My bathrooms would be the foot of the cross.

There is a hallway that connects all these rooms to make them as one. Without the hallway they would be separate and alone. The hallway keeps them connected and functioning together as a house and home. The hallway is a picture of the Vine.

The problem is, I have a basement. My basement is both good and bad. I go there to clean our clothing, get food from the freezer, to gather the things I need for Sunday School, to get to the back yard to water my flowers, and sometimes to play. But there are things in my basement that are out of place, and others that don't belong and most of all, it is not connected to the hallway, which makes it vulnerable to be forgotten in the cleaning process.

In every home there has a stash. In my house it is the basement; in others the attic, cellar or storeroom.  We have things we no longer need, that get in our way, that take up room unnecessarily, could be given away, or even thrown out. We sit back and think, “I may need that some day,” and hang on to it when it could benefit others and would certainly benefit us by removing it from our home, yet there they are. I am not talking about sentimental things that help us remember. Sometimes we truly do need them to remind us the reasons we fell in love, how much our parents loved us and each other, how much fun we had with our siblings as children, etc. These things help us remember to forgive hurts and injustices and keep loving. However, if they become items of worship, such as when someone passes away and we cling to the things that remind us of them and refuse to let go instead of simply remembering the love that person generated to and in us, then we need to get rid of them; perhaps giving them to someone who can keep the item simply for memories sake. I personally, however, have some books I could donate, craft supplies I overstocked on that others could use, toys and exercise equipment that were given to me and never used, and more. I have hung on to them long enough. It is time to share and share alike. God is good and will supply all my needs. I don't need to hang on to “what if's” any longer.  But I need help.  Old habits die hard.

Lord, set me free from the “what if's” in my life. There are many, so many I cannot name them all. Take each one and pull it up by the roots so that nothing remains and I am free of their entanglement and able to serve You more fully. Make room in the basement of my heart so I have room to move freely without tripping over the stuff and nonsense so others can see the change and recognize that if it is possible for me to be set free, it is possible for them as well. I know I cannot do it on my own, because I have tried. So I give it to You to work in me the changes necessary to fulfill Your perfect design for my life and home.