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A Morning View By the Wood Stove

I cleaned the dog droppings in the backyard yesterday. It has not been cleaned since well before the February snow storm. It was a mess. It took an hour and a half to clean it up. It is always so much better to regularly clean it up. There is much less "stuff" and it is a much easier and quicker job. It is not a good thing to let the waste build up for so long. I know I cleaned it well, but there are always parts I missed, I didn't see or was not able to get all the stains up. Plus, it does not impact the household as much and as often when the stuff is cleaned up. It is healthier for the dogs and cleaner and sanitized for the humans. 

I have been cleaning my own life lately of sin stuff which I have ignored and accumulated over my whole life in my backyard. Honestly, my sin stuff has made the backyard look like a rose garden. I should not have carried my sin, my pain, my guilt and my struggle my whole life. But I chose to do so because I saw a disgusting human that no other person saw and just knew in my heart that God could never really love me. 

Well, because God intervened with many people praying for me and investing in me, I always knew but finally believed I am loved by God. I am understanding how others really do love me and I am in the process of learning to love me. So praise be to God. 

The struggle in this journey is that my backyard has impacted the lives of others on my 59 years of my journey. There are remnants of the consequences of forgiven sin. There are people whose hearts have been deeply wounded. There are deep gaps in my relationships because of my sin. I am ashamed and often lost not knowing who I am. I am still falling short in the face of God, but the difference is I am, with God's help striving to keep my backyard clean. 

Our stuff not only impacts ourselves, but it impacts the lives of others. It would be easy to handle if it was just me. But my backyard is supposed to be a place to invite others to a Jesus party and not a place to cautiously tip toe through or even stay away from because of the sin screaming out. 

So my friends, when stuff happens in your life, clean up your yard. Please do not let it take control of you. Own it and with the help of God as well as the encouragement of others, keep it clean. God will help you turn your stuff filled backyard into a rose garden. 

“People who conceal their sins will not prosper,

    but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” - Proverbs 28:13 NLT


Peace,

PB


                                                                            

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