Listening When God Speaks

We like to listen to Old Time Radio in our house and one of our favorite shows is Fibber McGee and Molly.  On that show they have a running gag of the infamous hall closet.  Every time they open up the door to the closet, everything in the closet falls down on them.  Well, we have a closet that is very similar to it.

It is supposed to be an entry closet where we hang our coats.  Then I started storing gift wrapping supplies in it that includes wrapping paper, gift bags, bows, tags, and boxes to put gifts in.  Then whenever we needed to put something away and we didn't have a place for it this closet became our go to spot.  So now it includes flower pots, sleeping mats for camping, a sleeping bag, my jewelry making supplies, and who knows what else!

Entry Closet before...what a mess!

Ever since we moved into this house, we have had storage issues.  We gained square footage which I love, but I had to give up all the built-ins we had in our little bungalow.  I do miss those built-ins.  We also had an attic and a basement which was also very nice to store things.  But we don't have those here.  In my mind, all I could think was we need more space!  We need a new, bigger, grander house!

Not too long ago, we talked about building.  In fact, we picked out the plans, talked to a builder and were on our way to the bank when we found out that my job may not be stable at this time.  We decided to wait on building as we didn't want to be in the middle of a big, costly project and I lose my job.  To be honest, looking back on it I realize that God was stepping in and saying "Not now."  

I started thinking about why we wanted a new house and the answer pretty much slapped me in the face.  I wanted it for us.  I wanted it to hold all my stuff, the majority of things that I don't ever use.  I wanted it to show off to others.  I wanted it to be able to brag.  God knew my heart and he knew that it was not for His glory, but for my own.  If we had continued on in the process, it would not have gone as planned.  I know that now.

There are some issues with the place that we live.  But ever since we decided not to build, God has opened doors for us in ways I can't even explain.  I have a small list of needs for this place, reasons that I thought were good enough to build a new house. What I have found, is that almost every need has been, or is going to be met through our existing house.  

For the time being, we decided to just clean out and get rid of items that we no longer need or use. The hall closet was first on our list, but it is not the only thing that we have tackled.  

Entry closet after...much better!

I also cleaned and organized my pantry and we started doing the same thing to our master closet...but I'll get to that story in a little bit.  

Pantry before...actually it was worse than this, I forgot to take a picture before I started cleaning.

Our pantry after.  I can actually find things in it!

As we started our cleaning/organizing/decluttering, something happened.  We started looking at our house in a little different light.  It wasn’t the horrible place that I had made it out to be as I was dreaming of bigger and better things.  For once I started seeing the good in it, the potential.  God has helped me see the wonderful, in the blessing that he saw fit to give us.

Now back to our master closet.  It is long and narrow.  It is walk-in, but barely.  I do want a bigger closet to help organize things better.  As we were cleaning out the closet, Steve and I were looking at our bathroom that the closet is off of.  It is huge!  It has more walking room than we need.  So after measuring and talking, we looked at each other and said do we want to do this? Well the answer was a resounding yes.  A wall has come down and we are enlarging our closet by about 2 foot.

Inside our closet, long and narrow.

The wall that we are taking down.

As for the other complaints about our home, we are figuring out ways to make those go away.  As we listen to God, doors are opening, we are able to thrive, and we are more content with our life.  I never thought an organization project could bring me closer to God.

It is amazing how God works and how he gets our attention.  He can do it through miraculous works, or he can do it through small whispers.  The most important thing that I have learned is to listen when God speaks.

Is God speaking to you? 

2 comments cleaning, closets, New Year's, organization, resolutions