Skeletons in the Closet

I was cleaning the house today and I kept noticing the same thing over and over again. There was laundry that needed to be done, a few dishes that needed to be washed, vacuuming, and a little bit of clutter here and there that needed to be organized, but that wasn't what shocked me.

As I was putting the folded clothes away, I opened up the closet doors and cringed at the clutter on the floor. Clothes off the hangers, clothes not folded and just piled up. I quickly put the clothes that I was holding away and closed the closet door---leaving the mess and telling myself mentally that I would get to it later. The same thing happened as I was putting dishes away, my Tupperware cabinet was--IS---a wreck, but I tossed the clean containers in the cabinet and shut the door, I also added cleaning that cabinet to my to-do list. The bathroom wasn't any different. My cabinets underneath were so unorganized that it would take a good bit of time to sift through bottles of perfume, lotions, makeup, and random toiletries. And again, I cringed and shut the cabinet, making a mental note to do something that I knew I was probably not going to do. This happened numerous other times throughout the day. It was the same scenario with the garage, the laundry closet, and my office. After awhile I came to the realization:

Everything looks good on the outside, but I'm hiding so much on the inside. 

 

This reminded me, isn't this the same thing we do with ourselves? Don't we try to look perfect and beautiful on the outside, but on the inside we are full of things that we don't want anyone to see. Oftentimes, we are just as cluttered on the inside as the cabinets that I failed to clean out today. We hide the bad, the ugly, and we decide to keep it hidden inside where we think it does the least damage since no one can see it, right? 

Wrong. 

It does the most damage being hidden and keeping these things inside just makes it harder for us to grow. Just like if we bought a piece of fruit from the store and took a bite out of it, only to realize that the inside is rotten and riddled with worms. We wouldn't eat it. And perhaps we'd be a bit annoyed that the way the fruit looked on the outside deceived us as to what it contained on the inside. God didn't intend for us to be beautiful on the outside and rotten on the inside. 

"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel: 16:7 NIV

 Yes, we are all flawed, but He expects us to always try to be better. To never settle for who we were the day before. Maybe you're hiding addictions, lies, evil thoughts, past mistakes, whatever it is...God will take us as we are. Regardless of what bad things we've done, regardless of the extent of our sins, even though we feel unworthy---HE WILL ALWAYS ACCEPT US. He doesn't want us to live with clutter building up inside of us. I'm sure no one does. I encourage you to take your skeletons out of your closets and give them to God. Our Heavenly Father's arms are always open. I also encourage you to strive to be beautiful both inside and out.

You are beautiful. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7 NLT