What makes a home cluttered and untidy?

Assuming there is a place for everything and that it can look neat and tidy when everything is in its place…

As the mother of seven, I would say it is a case of everything overflowing its spot and encroaching upon other areas of the house. It’s a lot simpler to keep my home tidy now that my children have grown and moved away. But it was a real challenge when they were growing up. Food would leave the kitchen and spread its crumbs and stickiness all around the living room, hallway and bedrooms. Clothing would leave the closets and drawers to take up residence on beds, the floor, and the furniture in other rooms. Books and toys would leave their shelves and cubbyholes and find their way to hallway and living room floors. Eventually every room in the house contained items that belonged in every other room in the house. And I would stand in the doorway of the room and wonder where to start…

Our spiritual lives can be like that too. The cares of life and the worries of the day come crowding in and keep us from hearing His still, small voice. Every morning I spend some time reading the Bible and a couple of devotional books. This should be a “quiet time”, a time when the cares of the day have not yet begun to intrude. But all too often, my mind is already so busy with random, jumbled thoughts, that I totally miss the significance of what I am reading. Its message is lost on me.

You know what happens if someone tells you NOT to think of pink elephants? Your mind is immediately populated with pink elephants. The only way NOT to think of pink elephants is to deliberately think of something else. Trying to clear my mind of the random, jumbled thoughts can be alarmingly like trying to herd a roomful of playful kittens. The only way NOT to let those thoughts have their way is for me to deliberately and intentionally focus on God, and the book in front of me.

It helps when I get enough sleep, so I can get up before the world around me starts its distracting activities. It also helps that I have a particular place for my quiet time, and go there before starting anything else. Often my time in the morning puts me in a frame of mind to see God’s hand in the little things, and gives me an awareness of His presence in my life throughout the day.  

The home will not magically tidy itself – Mom must do it, or oversee her children as they help her. And God will not clear our heads so we can hear Him. That is our job. We must deliberately turn our focus away from everything else, and look to Him.

“Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” – Hebrews 4:7