Recently I returned from a 4 day backpacking trip in the mountains of Tennessee and as I came home and thought about unpacking and a previous trip I had been on I threw all my bags on my backporch...here's why =>
In the Spring of 2005 I went with the rest of our church staff on a short, but enjoyable, mid-week retreat to a camp about an hour from our community. We stayed in dorms on site and for the most part the camp looked well kept and clean. On the morning of the day that we were going to depart to come back home I noticed a couple of small insects on the floor in the shower room and mentioned it to my bunk mates as I was organizing my things back in the room to head to our next group meeting. Another older and wiser staffer said to me that he was going to examine his stuff before he left to make sure he didn't take anybody home with him that he wasn't intending on taking home. The action sounded wise, but I never got around to doing it...Afterall, I didn't see the critters in our sleeping area, just in the shower.
Shortly after I am home, and haven't had time to unpack my bag yet, I realize I need my planner out of my bag to check on the date of an event. I open my planner to find what I'm looking for, and see more than what I'm looking for. Mind you it was only one bug, and it wasn't even big, but I HATE BUGS....especially in my house! What do you think I did next? Finish what I was doing? Heck no! I IMMEDIATELY took my bag and every thing that was in it outside and examined every little pocket or crevice to make sure he (the bug) was a solo. My neighbors probably thought I was nuts, or more nuts than they already think I am. What kind of individual takes his travel bag out in the yard and shakes it vigorously? =)
Do you remember hearing the song when you were a kid...Be careful little eyes what you see? Be careful little feet where you go? Sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally our hearts, eyes and ears go places that have things that, like it or not, come back home with us. They are like stowaways. We can't see them on the surface, and neither can our friends, but don't kid yourself, they are there, and they come out when we least expect them too. We want them to stay in the bag and deny they are there...some wise person has told us to be careful and inspect our hearts and lives to make sure nothing is there that we don't want there, but we didn't see anything near our life that looked threatening so we don't take the time to check it.
Where have you been lately? What have you been exposing your heart to with your eyes? What do you allow your mind to listen to, and convince yourself that no part of it is going to stowaway in your life? We all have stowaways...whether we choose them or not...they choose us. The key is being proactive to avoid them and reactive if we do make contact with them ....Doing an honest, thorough search of your heart to make sure that you are QUICKLY getting rid of anything you or your Lord doesn't want there. When was the last time you had a heart to heart with the Father and told Him how sorry you are for all the crud that you've stumbled upon there recently that doesn't glorify Him or reflect the life you want to live for Him. It is so healthy for our connectedness to Him to go through our bags more frequently than we do to separate ourselves from anything that would keep us further away from him than we want to be. If I was casual about the bug and didn't react, but let him crawl away to a corner of my house, you and I both know how many I would have been seeing later...why should you treat impure thoughts or actions any differently. Separate yourself from your stowaways TODAY!
"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin." Psalm 32:5
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