It May Only Be Pretty On the Outside

Last night I had a lengthy and restless dream about moving into a new home. In the dream I had hired 3 men to help load and unpack three huge moving trucks. I had all this stuff, the majority of it items I probably didn't even need. I remember feeling so overwhelmed and weighed down, and at the $65 per hour each I was paying them, I was beginning to worry about the rising expense. Then we arrived at my new home. It looked so nice from the outside, but once we got inside it was a whole different story. The layout and amenities in the house were everything I could possibly want, but it was in need of a tremendous amount of repair. The kitchen floor was made of uneven slats of plywood like an earthquake had moved the foundation. When I turned on the tub faucet, water gushed from underneath creating a household flood. In every room of that house were major problems. As I walked through, I began to sum up what this and that would cost to fix and I became discouraged. The movers asked me if I had seen the inside before I bought the home and for some strange reason, dreams are like that, I had not! I began to feel as though I had made a huge mistake. When I woke up from this sleep-induced nightmare, and thank God it was only that, I asked the Lord what did all this mean. What came to my heart was the lesson of letting go -letting go past mistakes and needless dilemmas or drama, and that some things just aren't worth fixing. At times, we need to just cut our losses and move on. Sometimes things look so pretty on the outside, but inside they cause us great turmoil and anxiety. Some relationships and friendships can be like that, especially if we're unequally yoked. On the surface, the person may appear great, but in our spirits we filled drain, fed-up, and restless. Instead of letting go, we try to fix problems or adapt to behaviors we're uncomfortable with instead of realizing, hey, maybe we're not a good fit. When we do decide to move on, we often bring truck loads of guilt or sad memories with us. Lighting our load will help to lighten our spirits. It could have been a nice house, it had so much potential, but I just wasn't up for the challenge. I wanted something that was move-in ready. Which makes me wonder why would I buy a house without even looking inside? Haste, impatience, and foolishness, come to mind. For me God may be saying, "Hey, take your time, don't just look at the surface of your desires, but check out the inside and all the rooms as well before you make a big investment. Also, get rid of those things that are weighing you down. They may be pretty on the outside, but robbing your spirit on the inside. And lastly, practice the art of letting go and forgive yourself in the process. God is still on the throne.