My disheveled house…


These past two weeks my house has been in a state of utter chaos.  It is because I decided to redo the rooms upstairs with new paint and new carpeting.  The decision has necessitated moving all of the furniture, collecting and moving things to the basement, and dismantling blinds, and bed frames.  Yesterday however, at around 3pm, the painter left and it was time to start putting it all back together.

I became almost manic in my frenzied desire to “tidy up”.  After all, one of my cousins would be coming back to Saline with me following Dad’s memorial and since she’s never seen my house, I want it to look nice.  You see her house in MA is gorgeous and I didn’t want her to think “less” of me because mine was such a shambles.

So, after I spent hours working like a dog trying to put things back into some semblance of order, Jim came home.  I WANTED him to tell me how nice the house looked.  I WANTED him to tell me what a good job I’d done.  But he’d had a hard day and those were not the words I heard…

Sometimes I wonder about my motivations.  I mean, I think for the most part I am outwardly motivated to love God and serve people, but I also know that I feel great pride and value when someone acknowledges work that I’ve done.

This morning in my reading I came across this verse:

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God?  Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” - Galatians 1:10

Ugh. That felt like God talking… for as I read it I realized that in both the case of my cousin, and in my desire for Jim’s recognition I had been working for “the approval of men”… 

Yep, that’s me, A PEOPLE PLEASER.

This verse reminded me that when I fall into the trap of seeing my value through the eyes of others and working to gain their approval, Satan has a foothold.  Instead I must remember these words:

“Whatever you do, work at it work all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” - Colossians 3:23-24

So, this morning as I prepare to head to the west side of the state for Dad’s memorial and then to bring my cousin back, I COULD focus on the fact that the new carpeting is still not here…OR I could remember that it is ME she’s coming to see, and not my house.

Rather than fretting about the carpet, I will spend my morning thinking about ways I can love up on her while she is here…which, I suspect, is EXACTLY what God wants anyway. 


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