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This week is New York fashion week and my twitter stream has been filled everyday with little snippets of the latest and greatest when it comes to what to wear. The cornucopia of artistic expression going on this week in fashion has inspired me to clean out my closet and do the annual keep or sweep of my clothes. It’s amazing what you can learn about yourself when you are met with the struggle of keeping or getting rid of the junk in our lives. For instance that t-shirt isn’t just an ugly green shirt, it represents all the memories attached to it; and don’t even get me started on shoes!
I know this all may sound very trivial to some of you out there, but while cleaning out my closet this week I started thinking about all the junk we carry inside of us and how God gently takes us into the most private parts of our hearts and asks us to get rid of jealousy, anger, offense, greed….(you fill in the blank for your heart) and to go a little deeper with him.
I once saw a movie about a serial killer and there was a scene where a criminal psychologist was explaining why serial offenders like to keep mementos from their victims and how the police should look for these mementos in their search. She explained that they liked to look at them and relive the moment over and over again, bringing back the feelings they were experiencing at the moment of the crime, feelings of power and control over their victim. While they were explaining this, the scene flashed to the serial killer doing the very thing she was describing, hidden away and reliving the moment he killed the girl. Watching the killer live out the moment the psychologist was explaining was impactful.
While watching this I wondered how many mementos we keep in our lives so that we can relive them to feel justified when we react negatively to others, and how many times we allow the enemy to keep mementos so that he can use them to pick at those wounds we carry internally, causing us to go back to our hurts, making us to think negatively and live negatively, which causes us to become jealous, angry, bitter or self destructive.
I personally believe that the greatest mountain we will ever conquer for God, is our own personal mountain. Life can wound us and when we carry these wounds and keep them hidden deep in the closet of our hearts, we often believe that we have them so hidden that the world cannot see them. Then when we are least expecting it, a memento is brought out, taking us back to a place of pain. It triggers us and we react out of that pain.
You speak harshly to the young clerk checking you out at the grocery store. You don’t allow others to come too close because the intimacy is too suffocating and if they really knew who you were they would not be able to like you, much less love you. You start to hoard all your accomplishments, all that you value, for fear of losing what you have. You stop seeing God as the God of abundance; you see Him as the Ruler in the sky that cannot understand the pain and struggles that you encounter everyday. You become competitive and challenging, not believing that the Kingdom holds all that you will ever need or desire.
Maybe today is the day that you need to open the door to the closet in your heart and allow God to enter in with you. I promise that He is a safe place and He help you to get rid of the items you once needed to survive but have now become way out of date. He will also delight with you in those possessions that make you even more attractive and will show you how best to use them. He will take those things that you have kept hidden in a corner; the broken, bruised, battered piece that you forgot you had and He will repurpose it to become something of beauty.
So take courage and walk in with the Father holding your hand and remember that today is your day to shine.
By Selena Day
Selena Day is a motivational speaker and is available to speak at your conference or event. You may contact her at selenaday@me.com http://www.queenliving.org http://facebook.com/queenismsbyselenaday
Coastal Media/SGN Scoops/SGM Radio is pleased to welcome Selena Day to our family! Look for upcoming columns by Selena, beginning in the November edition of SGN Scoops magazine.
Selena Day Bio
Selena Day was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. During her twenties she worked in the field of fashion in Atlanta, as both a make-up artist and model. Selena became a Christian in her early 20’s and then quickly met her husband, Chuck Day, who is a songwriter and recording artist. Selena and Chuck have been in the ministry for 26 years, raising three daughters and homeschooling them while they traveled together as a family. During this time God taught her how crucial intergenerational ministry is for the furthering of God’s kingdom.
Selena travels the world speaking at conferences with the emphasis on empowering a multi-generation of women to rise up and become everything that God has called them to, teaching on the power of a parent’s role in their children’s lives and encouraging the next generation of the church to break the walls of limitations in their mind and rise to their full potential.
Selena and her husband are life coaches for The World Race, which is an extreme missions trip for adults ages 21 through 35. She and her husband travel every two months somewhere around the world to mentor and train these missionaries. They spend one year encouraging them to take ownership of their relationship with our Creator by hearing what God is saying to them about their lives.
Selena has been writing articles for magazines and blogs for the past three years and is in the process of writing a book on living the Queen life, which deals with Kingdom living. She and her husband Chuck have been co-pastoring a home-church outside of Atlanta, GA for the past 13 years, where they have experienced God moving in a community and truly seeing the body of Christ in action through each other.