Super Saturday: Let's Focus on Hiding Things

I've been running around hiding things this afternoon.

It's all because of Maddie Poppe.

I lead a Bible Study on Monday nights at 7 p.m. (We're doing Free to Lean by Jocelyn Green - it's so good!) 

Anyway, I was talking to some of the women who are in the study today and I asked what we should do this Monday. Maddie Poppe (our friend from nearby Clarksville, Iowa) is in the top 14 on American Idol and Monday night will be the big reveal show where we see if she goes on even further. (We just know she will, but all of you can help make that happen by watching on Sunday night and voting for her)

We talked about meeting at 6 and then going home to watch the show. Someone mentioned watching it together and I offered to have Bible Study at our house and then we could watch it together after that. I joked that it would give me an excuse to dust.

When I got home I looked around and realized I had lots of stuff to hide.

(Not my house...just a good illustration of hiding stuff)

I stashed a bunch of old magazines back in the bench they had come from.

I moved a couple of boxes to the den. I put a few things back in some drawers in the living room.

I moved an extension cord downstairs and put a pile of books on a shelf in the den.

I have a few more little piles to move before Monday night.

I haven't decided about the dusting yet. Part of me just wants to follow the advice of a woman I met many years ago. She said one of her friends just puts out a little sign that says, "You can admire the dust; just don't write in it."

As I was moving stuff around, I couldn't help but wonder at my sudden interest in making the living room look neat and tidy. I had ignored the piles for weeks (months?), but suddenly I felt the need to move them so my friends wouldn't see them.

The mess will still be there, it will just be hidden in the den and in my drawers and cupboards.

The women might be impressed with how clean everything looks, but they're smart enough to figure out that I'm probably hiding something (plus most of them read my blog, so they'll know for sure!).

Don't we do that in other areas of our life, too?

We paste on a happy face in public even if we're miserable on the inside and need help.

We post the perfect family pictures on Facebook and hide the family fights and problems.

We ignore the things that bother us about a close friend or relative because confronting makes us too uncomfortable.

Now, there's nothing really wrong with cleaning the house before someone comes over, but let's not pretend that our whole house looks perfect all the time. That's just not possible.

We can smile as we go through our day, but we need to drop the mask sometimes. It's important to have people we can go to for help and encouragement. People we can cry with. People who support us even when we're not smiling.

It's fine to post nice family pictures online, but let's try sharing a few candids once in a while that show that we struggle just like everyone else. (Get permission from your family first)

Bearing with the faults of our friends and relatives is admirable, especially if those faults are just quirky personality traits that bug us. We need to be brave, though, when that person is doing something that hurts others or puts them in danger. We need to show love and talk to them instead of ignoring the problem.

Thanks, Maddie Poppe. Because of you, my living room is finally going to be dusted. Good luck this weekend!

"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body." (Ephesians 4:25 NIV)

Do you hide things instead of dealing with them at times? How can focusing on God help you to face whatever you're dealing with and not just hide it?