As the holiday season
approaches, there will be more than one person who dredges up old skeletons in
the closet. Those skeletons can be painful too. The skeletons of the past won't
be those of a perfect family, perfect home, perfect world images or memories. In fact,
many of them will be the exact opposite. The perfect person image in the closet
mirror is sadly lacking too.
"So what can we do to
clean out our closets?"
First of all, remember that the
holiday season is focused on love, not on fear. The entire Christmas message is
about God's love, manifest to us by the gift of His Son.
"Perfect love casts out
fear."
When we are closet cleaning, so
to speak, in our hearts, minds or lives, there are things that we are afraid to
face for one reason or another.
"What if those things
surface?" we ask ourselves, knowing that they just might.
"How can we ever get past
them?" we wonder.
"How will they affect our
lives?" We are concerned about the future. "What about the lives of
others?"
"How will our families and
friends feel, if those closet door are opened?" We are afraid what will happen
if the truth is revealed. Our imperfections stand to be exposed for the world
to see.
There is one basic principle
to remember. Truth is always revealed in
time which can be a shock to our systems because we hope and pray, that the negative
aspects of our pasts are never revealed, particularly to those who we really
love. What we forget is the reality
that love can cover a multitude of sins.
"God is Love."
We have the choice of doing two
things. Either, we cling to the past or
let it go. We can hang more skeletons in our closet, or place the cross of
Jesus Christ in the closet instead. It is up to us to make the choice. The
skeleton represents the road to death, while the cross depicts the road to life. If we do choose to
place the cross of Christ in the closet, be aware that no closet is large
enough to contain the cross. God's Spirit cannot be contained.
There is a Y in the road and now
we have to make a proactive choice with respect to the direction that our lives
are going to take. Going one way, means that we
can continue to try and hide our imperfect deeds and actions of the past.
Reality has it that they will be uncovered eventually, no matter how we hard we
try to hide them, so that would appear to be a futile approach to reality. The second option offers a much
more plausible solution, a way to resolve the skeleton-in-the-closet syndrome.
Since God loves us, He is also
willing and able to accept the contents of the not-so-nice closet treasures we
have hoarded in our hearts, minds and lives. If we have the courage to take
them all and give them to God, we know that they will be dealt with rightly. He
will forgive our sins, erroneous words and wrong deeds of the past and lead us
with His Holy Spirit on the right pathway of life. All we have to do is ask.
When you give something to
someone from the depths of your closet, wherever it might be, do you then take
it back, probably not, so take whatever it is that you are hiding in your
closet and give it all to God. Tell Him that you are not
taking it back and that you need and want to move on in your life, regardless
of what surfaces in the future. Always ask for forgiveness for
everything that you feel guilty about, at any time. Give it all to God!
Let's go back to our discussion
about the holidays, for a moment, as that is what this whole
skeleton-in-the-closet scenario is all about.
Family and friends can and do
bring out the best in us and sometimes the worst, too. We are vulnerable to them because they know us so well. Sometimes it seems that
they know us too well. Digging up and tossing old recollections from the past
at one another particularly during the holiday season, can be devastating for
everyone.
Sometimes, allowing something
to be brought to the surface is like opening an old wound. Perhaps that old
wound was never properly healed in the first place and it needs to be allowed
to drain. If there is old or recurrent infection at work in that wound, it may
never heal properly. Allow it to be opened even if
it hurts for a moment. Then claim healing for it. Moving on allows healing,
health and wholeness to enter into our entire being.
The cross of Jesus covers our
sins totally, absolutely and irrevocably. That means, once we give something to
Him and asked for forgiveness with respect to it, we cannot retrieve it again. It is gone forever
regardless of the demonic darts that others may choose to toss at us.
Begin to fill your closet anew
with that which is good and not evil, what is right rather than wrong, and
start to build a new collection of happy memories instead of more unhappy ones. Show the old skeleton in the
closet that there is no more room for anything that manifests, reflects or
leads to death. The cross of Christ represents
life! It does not take anywhere near as much room as an old, dead skeleton with
its dry, rattling bones. Enjoy your holidays, knowing
that the skeletons of the past are gone forever, even if it does not appear to
be that way.
Once your closet has been
properly cleaned there is room for love, life and laughter, as well as the new
artistic creativity and genius potential, that is part of your new life. Let Christ be the center of
your Christmas, your life, your hearth and your home. He alone can clean out
the closet of your heart, mind and life. He may even be able to remove a few of
the old cobwebs left behind by the spiders of your past!
Have the best and happiest holiday
season ever and teach others how to do the same!
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