A Clean Home Is Not Your Shelter

There is not one corner of my home that feels picked up or organized lately. My house definitely has not looked the way it does for a photo shoot in a long time–and surely not since I became pregnant. We are presently more abundantly blessed with mess-makers than house-keepers. Do you have that problem? Even with all the offensive tactics and deliberate pursuit of staying on top of our family’s daily upkeep, we simply have fallen two steps (or more) behind ever meal, every load of laundry, every spill…every mess.

For those of you who spend every day caring and managing your home, you know what I mean when I say I feel overwhelmed and discouraged by the perpetual-ness of it all. I’m doing the next right thing, learning to be more efficient, sometimes making time for inefficiency, and setting my mind on the fact that I get to serve my family. But as I press on with the things I know to do, the house continues to carry on much like a one year old learning to feed himself: Some spoonfuls make it into the mouth, some just make a mess.

The reality is that my home and my family life will continue to stretch and strive to be more disciplined, more organized, more efficient in picking up and cleaning up….for year so to come. Any notion I had of finding comfort and satisfaction in the perfection of my home has simply shown itself for what it is: an idol of the heart that can neither sustain or deliver.

A home void of the evidence of little ones in training has often been my shelter, my comfort in the midst of these busy-crazy-messy years. It was never meant to be.

Instead, I’ve been meditating on Psalm 91:1-2

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Our physical shelter and our environment were never intended to be our true refuge. They provide safety, comfort, warmth, and intimacy for the family, but they are merely temporary, and as I am experiencing in my own life–unreliable resources for stability and assurance of the heart.

Are you putting your trust and your worth in your surroundings? Do you struggle to be happy when your home is not the way you want it to be? Have you found yourself sheltered under the wrong source of refuge? Friend, I know I have.

Dwell in His shelter
Rest in His shadow.
Take refuge in His mighty fortress.
Trust Him who is worthy.

Psalm 91:1-2 reminds us that He is where we must turn, where we must hide, where we must take shelter, and where we must surrender. If you are weary today from all that is a mess in your life–whether physical or internal–run to Him. He is our strong tower!