Too Many Clothes

The rail in my wardrobe has broken.

 

I heard an unidentifiable crash a few evenings ago and now have a clothes rail which is hanging at an acute angle.  I have tried to screw it back in place, but I think I need some heavy duty toolmanship to properly sort the problem.

 

Of course, it would be easy to assume I have too many clothes and therefore ought to sort through them and decrease my wardrobe.

 

However, I hope instead to find someone with an electric drill who can help to re-establish the rail and restore harmony to my wardrobe.

 

Sometimes in life, I have too much in my wardrobe, too.  I am trying to carry too many things, or deal with too many things, and the 'rails' bend and break from the strain.

 

But Jesus tells us that we don't need to carry a heavy load.  In fact, if we follow Him, we have an easy load to bear:

"Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

 

[Matthew 11:28-30 NLT] 

 

And in another translation,

 

"I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

 

[Matthew 11:30 MSG]

 

Often, we try to cram too much into our 'wardrobes'.  We hold onto things that no longer fit or suit us.  We can't bear to part with our old outfits.  And we do it because it feels safe and comfortable.  We would rather have too much and feel secure, than have an empty wardrobe and wonder who we are.

 

But we weren't made to carry a heavy burden.  We were made for a light load.  And when we try to carry or hold too much, we end up with broken rails.

 

I want to learn to accept Jesus' words and live freely and lightly in a spiritual sense.  But I think I'll keep the clothes.

 

 

 

 

The Wardrobe Of Our Thoughts

I bought the film 'Eat, Pray, Love' the other day and am just rewatching it this evening.

 

It's about a woman who is dissatisfied with her life in New York and decides to travel to Italy, India and Bali to find herself again.

 

At one point, when she is on a spiritual retreat in India, a man she has sort of befriended tells her she has to start choosing what thoughts to 'put on' in the same way that she chooses what clothes to wear.

 

I don't spend very long choosing what to wear in the mornings.  The formula is simple: always work from the feet up.  Is it raining or freezing?  Yes - boots and something that will go with boots.  No - heels (or sandals in the summer) and something that will go with heels.

 

But when it comes to our thoughts, too easily we let ourselves think things without thinking about them - we think without thinking.

 

We throw on any old thoughts, regardless of whether they are flattering or 'our size' or if they suit us.  We put our thoughts on without wondering if they are true.

 

I have recently challenged myself to stop using the word 'should' in my own thoughts and conversations with myself.  'Should' makes me feel as though I am obliged to do something and I don't measure up.  'Should' suggests I fall short.  'Should' makes me feel that there is only one right and perfect way of doing things.

 

As someone who is trying to break free from the hold of perfectionism and the feeling that there is always only one right way of doing something, eliminating 'Should' has been a big help.

 

Now, I find myself thinking, "I could have done that" or "I would like to do this".

 

I have started to rethink my thinking.

 

The Bible talks about taking control over our thoughts and rethinking our thinking:

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

 

[2 Corinthians 10:1-6 NIV]
 

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

If my thoughts - about myself and other people - don't measure up or match what Christ thinks, I need to change them, to make them line up with what God says. 

I need to rethink my thinking.