I don’t like coffee.
Before you cast me off let me try to win you over with this: I do like iced coffee. Although, that may not be entirely true because what I like is hazelnut creamer with a little iced coffee added to it. I probably only add the iced coffee to remain somewhat acceptable in a world of “you don’t drink coffee?!” die-hard, need it to live, coffee in your veins people.
Another thing I don’t like is a messy refrigerator. I’m a little OCD when it comes to our fridge – “our” being the one in our home. I have three kids and two labs so my OCD takes a forced back seat most of the time. But give me hazelnut creamer and iced coffee in a clean fridge and I’m a happy gal.
Which leads me to the day I opened the refrigerator door to find that my hazelnut creamer spilled all over shelves, through the vegetable holder and was now laying in a puddle below. To make matters worse, I found it as we were rushing out the door with no time to clean it up. Deep down inside I didn’t even want to clean it up. I hoped it wasn’t as bad as I knew it was…but we all know how that goes.
The next day, I unloaded the fridge intending to sop up the creamer, possibly cry a little, and then open the brand new hazelnut creamer that now sat safely in the back of the shelf. But, the more I scrubbed, the more I realized that my “clean-for-a-family-of-5” fridge was anything but. I was slightly horrified at the smear of A1 Sauce and the several other unrecognizable things I had uncovered. Until this moment I really didn’t think it was all that bad, it could have been way worse, it has been worse, but it certainly wasn’t as cleaned up as I thought it was before this disaster happened. I began wiping down every bottle, spraying sanitizer and scrubbing every corner.
As I did these things, I remembered a time when the “hazelnut creamer” in my life spilled out. The one thing I treasured and cared for the most had turned upside down and spilled all over everything else that I thought was well. At the time, life seemed pretty good, acceptable, clean enough, until God used this one thing that would get my attention and let it nearly unravel so that I would see more clearly. Those moments of emptying the shelves of my heart were some of the hardest. It took days, months and in some areas years to clean the grime of what had built up.
Was it convenient? Not at all.
Did I believe I’d survive it? Honestly, no.
But was it worth it? Absolutely.
That doesn’t mean it stays sparkling clean after one good scrubbing. It still takes work of deciding what is worth space on the shelves and what there is no room for, what will provide nourishment and what will be spoiled or cause clutter. It takes consistency and time to slow down, to clean up the corners, to check every hidden place. And the figurative “hazelnut creamer” of my life that had once spilled out because of my disregard is now regarded as something even more valuable, worth protecting, and highly treasured.
If your “creamer” has spilled, don’t leave the door closed hoping it will clean up itself. What you face may be horrifying, but what matters is that you’re willing to bravely take it on knowing God will see you through it.
Open the door, get on your knees and begin.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
