Gum Under the Desk

Remember those days when you used to stick your gum under the desk at school? For some of us it has been a long time. If you’re like me, you’ve probably forgotten when but you do remember you did it.

Gum under the desk, like hurts in our lives, are usually forgotten until things get hot. They stick with us as past reminders and their presence are not felt until they become soft again. Unresolved hurts creep up when we least expect it and are hard to shake off. Just like the gum, they are fastened tightly and refuse to move. This does not mean, however, that gum from under the desk can never be removed.

There is a technique that janitors use today to remove gum. They freeze the bottom side of the desk and make the gum hard. They then painstakingly scrape each gum off of the desk. Sounds like a dirty job, huh? The number of gums depends on the age group of the school. The higher the grade, the more gum there will be. The older we get, the more hurt we’ve experienced.

Most of us can blow past certain hurts; however, there are specific areas in our lives that we choose to ignore. These areas remain like those pieces of gum hidden where no one can see until or unless we become vulnerable. The janitors can never remove all the gum. Some pieces are smeared and become too thin to pick off. Heart wounds are the same way. They run deep and often remain with us for years.

We are in a culture where being self-sufficient should be enough. Dependency on others is frowned upon. Dependency on God is ridiculed. We rather live with unresolved hurt and have a heart spotted with old gum. We have become afraid and are reluctant to receive a heart repair because the job may become a bit dirty.

Gum by nature is sticky. It hardens and softens based on the temperature. Heart wounds are the same. These wounds do not go away until they’re addressed. Some wounds need to be taken care of by God who has the power to heal. He often waits to hear from us but can only heal when invited to do so. This is part of the package given to us called freedom of choice. God cannot operate in our lives unless we ask Him to.

Decide to live with less gum under your desk. Face those ignored hurts. Live in the fullness of joy. Don’t let those gummy spots continue to remind you of a past that is no longer there. Let’s face it we all are guilty of sticking some gum under the desk, but it’s not until we admit it that the process to heal begins.

How Neat is Your Closet?

Some of my friends are closet queens. Their closets are organized to the tee and are even color coordinated. Shoes are in boxes, and purses are in bags; a goal to strive for. Most people do not look into anybody’s clothes closet when visiting unless they’re best buds and want to show a particular item that requires the closet run. We assume all is in order and honestly, most of us don’t care. However, when going house hunting, one of the first things we like to do is check out how much storage spaces are in the bedroom closets, especially in the master. It’s amazing what one sees.

From where my head lays on the pillow, I can see into my closet if the door is opened. From that angle, all looks like everything is in order. If you walk in, everything looks neatly hung, purses are aligned, shoes are in boxes but I also know what lies hidden to the eye.

Closets remind me of how life can be. We can look like we have it all together on the outside but there are always some messy areas in the inside that God hasn’t gotten to or that we haven’t allowed God to deal with. Then again, there are some who don’t care, don’t pretend or don’t realize that they don’t have it all together and the deeper you get into their space, the hotter the mess is.

The easiest thing of course would be to keep the door closed. This way nobody can see what’s in it. While we’re at it, why not just lock it.

Closed Up Means Locked Out
Closets that are locked, always give off the silent message of I am neat. People with closed closet doors often are people who will shut others out but don’t realize that they have also shut themselves in. Their thought is that they don’t want anyone to know about their junk and they don’t want any help. That thought process is okay until the closet becomes too cluttered and spillage is inevitable. The sad thing is that they don’t recognize that some people love them enough to help clean up the mess. Not one closet is the same, so just because it remains closed doesn’t mean it can’t fall into the other categories below as well.

Appearance of Neatness
Do you wonder how many of us fall into that category? This is the space where perhaps filing cabinets hide papers that are misfiled for 20+ years. (Hmmm, sounds like the past that may need some shredding.) There’s a box full of photographs, kid drawings, family cards that have never been categorized, put into scrapbooks or photo albums. (Things left undone.) There’s a binder of half-started projects. (Dreams that were shelved that should be taken off the shelf, completed or restarted.)

Freakish Neatness
Please shake your head from side to side with me. These are the closets that make you want to puick because they are so neat. (My family and friends that fall into this category know that I write this with lots of love and a big, mischievous grin.)

Clothes (all of them) are in storage bags; sweaters and t-shirts are neatly folded and stacked (color coordinated of course) and shoes are not only boxed but tagged. There are no filing cabinets. It doesn’t belong in there! Guess what their closets say? Perfection can be achieved but go mess in their space and see if you don’t disturb their peace…major. This extreme takes a lot of work and pays off until something happens in life that makes them understand it is okay not be perfect, all the time, and help is also available to them because nobody has it all together.

Chaos Rules
This one is known as the teenage haven or the dark, adult cavern. No one knows what’s in there but the person who owns the space…and they know exactly where everything is. Unbelievably, if you ask, they can find the item in question within seconds. Free-spirited and uncaring of what others think, they’ll escort you to their closet with pride to show you their newest buy. They usually believe that nothing is wrong with their closet (or with them). If asked or told about anything within their space, their response is, if anybody doesn’t like it then they can just stay out. Free spirits are one of my favorite people but many lack structure and that makes it hard for them to work with others. They’re usually the folks that don’t know how to submit to any type of authority, have no plan, or question why their lives are either messed up or not moving forward.

Now, if any of these bothered you, it means that you were reminded of an area in your life that needs some tidying up. Let’s be real, all of us do and all of us will, until our last breath on this planet.

Here’s to closets everywhere. May they never be locked! May they always strive to appear neat. May we all be willing to go into our own with consistency and into others with love. May we reach that place where we can clear out all of our messes from time to time; for no one is perfect and I like it that way. I’m sure you do too.

Resolutions ~ Bah! Humbug!

Yep – I don’t believe in resolutions in the beginning of a year. It usually turns out to be a set up for failure. Do you ever wonder why?

Resolutions are usually filled with good intentions that are fueled by the emotion of guilt. People look back and all they see is what they did not accomplish. They become determined to change their world and accomplish the unaccomplished with new gusto until the first major challenge arises or life’s curve balls come into play.

Why do resolutions not work? The answer is easy. There was no plan or the plan laid out was unrealistic. It’s easy to say – I’m going to (fill in the blank) this year but what’s your plan? And if you do have a plan – is it realistic?

Study up on the area you want to change or jump into.
Let’s use losing weight as an example. Many flock to foods that are pre-made and get tired of it after a while. Some turn to the magic pill and blow up past their prior weight once they get off them. It is crazy to be on the mission to lose weight and not learn about the food groups you love and how they impact your body in particular. What you think may be healthy (like a salad with regular dressing and breaded chicken) may be as unhealthy as eating a cheeseburger everyday. When you get to know the foods you like and how they work for or against your body, you learn to make adjustments along the way.

Small Adjustments
If you love junk food, like me, you just can’t keep it in the house…unless you have the will power of steel. I don’t know about you but I’m not there yet. It’s really painful when you cut out all junk. It just doesn’t work. What is a gal to do when the unsatisfied chocolate cravings make the evil twin overpower her? Substitute. Find a healthy alternative. What does that mean? You continue to search and experiment until you find the yummy stuff that helps curves or satisfy those or any of your cravings for your favorite foods.

Be Realistic
Don’t look at a VS model. Those poor girls are usually teens that are starving themselves. Most of us have carried babies and our hips will NEVER be the same. Age and gravity makes changes that surgery can temporarily solve but here’s my take on it – at this point in life why should you care? You’ve earned every wrinkle, sag and curve. But if you’re like most women and me, I do not like them at all. Realistically I know I can’t change the course of what time will do to my body. However, one thing I know for sure. I want to be healthy. I want to live long, accomplish lots of things and not just see my grandbabies – I want to experience them. I would love for my body to look like a model (again). Ain’t gonna happen.

Continuous Journey
The weight journey is ongoing. It never ends. When you learn to eat healthy, it becomes part of who you are. You learn to adjust continually and look out for new opportunities that come in the form of recipes, restaurants, trying new foods, exercising and changing up the routine so boredom or discouragement doesn’t set in.

Knowledge isn’t Enough
Don’t just learn about it. Here is where a lot of us fall off the boat. We learn enough to get discouraged and walk away. It sounds too hard or impossible. How do you eat a huge elephant? You devour it one bite at a time. Do something, do a little adjustment whenever you can. This week cut down your soda intake. Perhaps you can remove it altogether. Next week cut the 5 spoons of sugar into your coffee and bring it down to 4. Now you’re on week 2 and you have removed soda and cut down one sugar!

Hooray for Me
Say yay me for the small adjustments you’ve accomplished and don’t get fixated with the big picture. Learn to pat yourself on the back more often. It’s not a bad thing to do. We get so hung up on constantly pointing out the negative, we don’t realize the great strides we make.

If you make a mistake, forgive yourself and try again. If something you’re doing is not working, chuck it up as a lesson learned, and try something new.

By now you’re saying, hey Roz this sounds like a resolution to me. Nah – this is just a way of life. New beginnings should happen whenever not just in the beginning of a new year.

Make change your lifestyle. Make walking in your destiny a reality. Make your life the masterpiece-gift you give back to God.

Don’t get hung up with resolutions. Say bah humbug with me and just LIVE!