January 16, 2012 Devotional

Light Up Your Piles   

      Piles are defined as unmade decisions made visible. I have piles on my table in my kitchen ("stuff to do"). I have a pile of clothes inside my closet. I even have a room devoted to piles! These piles are somewhat orderly. Some of the piles are hidden in nice, colorful plastic totes, and some are in strong cardboard boxes. I've forged these piles a few times, even eliminated some of the items, but then I just reorganize and rearrange everything into new piles!
 
     In the past, I've bullied myself over my piles. "You're a lazy woman," I'd say. "Maybe you're just one of those procrastinators, possibly a frustrated perfectionist." Perhaps, I am a little of all three. Regardless, taking this path in my thought process failed to neither eliminate any of my piles nor move my situation forward.
 
     Alas, the light came, a process indeed, definitely not an overnight transformation. First, I ousted the bully in my head. She was so phenomenal at comparing me to others. She never had a kind word of encouragement to say to me. What's funny is that I didn't recognize her efforts myself. It actually took a fellow pastor's wife, my friend and mentor, to "call her out". You see, she'd been in my head for years. Her cousins: low self-esteem and pity had practically set up house together behind the closed doors of my mind.
 
     The Light of God's powerful Word, the Truth of who I really am in Christ and the love of God gave me the courage, clarity and strength to kick her and her obnoxious cousins out for good. This terrible trio has tried to return occasionally around the holidays, but I just have to insist that the rooms of my house, (my mental house) have already been occupied with new guests like joy, peace and freedom.
 
     Secondly, I developed self-discipline. Over the years, I continued seeking the Lord and becoming convinced by faith (through hearing and confessing the Word) that God truly wanted to give me the desires of my heart (Jeremiah 29:11). Developing the habit of rising early and giving Father God the first fruit of my day has become a light that has radiated and stretched forth into my entire day. This habit has brought energy, focus, self-control and self-discipline into everything I've desired to accomplish that day.
 
       Lastly, as God's light exposes darkness in my own life, piles of shame and regret are confronted healed and eliminated, bringing forth organization, peace and joy into my world. This enables and drives my confidence to ''enlarge my tent" (Isaiah 54:2) and "Light up my World."
 
       A new year and a winter season have an innate ability to bring a fresh, clarity to our spiritual and physical lives. Leaves are eliminated from trees and our view becomes unhindered. We can have a fresh start and a fresh look at our walk with God, our marriages, and our families.  So ladies let us regroup, by eliminating, organizing, and simplifying our lives! Then we can truly SOAR in 2012!

Brooke Butcher

Family Worship Center
Carrollton, KY
www.fwcgc.com