rearranging furniture...

My wife has this thing that she loves to do about this time of the year...rearrange the furniture in the living room. I am not sure what exactly triggers in her this ancient primal need but I think it is either the incredibly frigid weather outside or the ceremonial taking down of the Christmas tree. Whatever it is I have come to recognize the look she gets in her eye as she scans around the room and then looks out the window...pensive... as if looking at a complex math problem in her head. “You know, it's good to rearrange things things from time to time” she says, still gazing out of the window. That's my cue...to get up and start “picking up” as she calls it. Once things are picked up to her satisfaction, she smiles a smile that I also have come to recognize. satisfaction...the plan is complete and pictured in her mind. The physical rearrangement commences...the vacuum comes out...the cat runs...and in a matter of minutes her vision has been executed with surgical precision. There comes that smile again...satisfaction. It's a good thing to rearrange some things in our lives sometimes...and not just our living room furniture. One of the huge benefits is that it gives us a different view than we have had for a while. It is so easy for things to get comfortable and predictable. Sometimes they are so predictable and in place in my house that I feel, if immediately struck blind...I could navigate pretty well. That's called familiarity. However, it can be a very dangerous thing as we can be easily lulled to sleep in our safety and comfort. I really like to rearrange things as well but in ways more challenging than where will I sit to watch TV. I sometimes equate comfort with routine and doing what is easy and not too risky. It is easy to get into a so called rut and get stuck and believe that things can only be arranged one way...whether furniture, our day, or what is important. I have discovered a great way to discover what things mean...give them up for a while. I have found that intentionally going without something is self revealing about both myself and what that thing represents in my life. For example, for the last few years, we have given up TV and “unplugged” from social media and most internet usage for the month of January. I suppose you could call it a fast, of sorts. It is utterly amazing the transformation that occurs in us when this happens. We talk “to” and not “at” each other...we read a few very interesting books...we listen...really listen...to some thought provoking music... and most importantly we pray, focus and hear Gods voice speaking very loud. Yeah, I know what you are saying about now...Gods voice ? Yeah, that's what I said...Gods voice...plain and clear. Deep inside the depths of our souls...away from the distractions of our daily lives...God is always speaking. The other thing that is so noticeable during this time of quiet is that we consume so much less of everything. We directly attribute that to the incessant barrage of mind control marketing we are not subject to on TV. Again, we become numb and hypnotized by TV and are fair game for every clever marketing campaign tells us what is sexy and desirable. A thing becomes only desirable to the degree of desire it creates within us. However, it is a false and short-lived desire as we want even more the new and improved version of the next best thing. I do not want that type of desire to be programmed into my mind as it is endless and agonizing to “keep up”. I have a different kind of desire and that creates conflict and I have learned, from a good friend, that conflict is a vital part of the story we are writing with our lives. This pseudo-desire for material things burns up in a flash like putting a piece of well seasoned pine wood on a hot fire. It makes a big fire...gives some heat(satisfaction)...but doesn't last. I really want to live in genuine desire of God and the things that are of God. I want to be in constant communion with Him and when there is an abundance of extraneous noise or other distractions present it is difficult. Listening isn't always easy...especially for me. My mind tends to be VERY busy most of the time. However...I want to listen more and pay attention to that voice that speaks to me in a very profound way...or often times speaks through other people...I want to learn to listen to them also. I want to understand the process more of how and why He chooses to speak to me. I know that is done by spending time in prayer, studying the Bible and quietly contemplating what is being spoken in that moment. I know that the more time that is spent in intimacy with God and His words, the easier is will be to recognize His speaking. Why is that so hard ?...I don't know, really. I do know that I am working on it very much during this “quiet time” in January and I am listening...close...right now.