It didn’t take me long to dismantle the Christmas décor that had taken me nearly a week to carefully set out. But it took the rest of the day to bring order back to my home. I had planned to get back to the gym today, but after one trip to the attic I decided that this year’s first workout would be at home. Instead of headphones setting my rhythm, thoughts of the goals and resolutions I had set for 2012 were enough to keep my pace strong. In no time I’d worked up a sweat, and was on a role. Just then a friend knocked at my door. She was bringing her daughter to play with mine and ended up staying quite awhile.
It’s hard to sit and visit when there’s work to be done; but part of my plan for the year is to spend more time on individual relationships, since I tend to “use my playtime wisely” and visit several girlfriends at once. I’ve often said that one of the reasons I love my profession is that I can work while I visit with the gals. Duplication is one of my favorite words.
My friend could see my anxiousness to finish my work and offered to help. Ah, how I love to work beside another woman. We continued to talk and laugh as we packed up nativities and tinsel. She ministered to me with her cheerful helpfulness and I believe I ministered to her as I listened to her battle with forgiveness.
The sun began to set as she headed home and I started to clean up the remaining pine needles and move the furniture to fill the void of our eight foot tree. As I looked around my living room with it’s whole new arrangement, I couldn’t help but think how much it represents all we spoke about.
Sometimes we spend great effort setting up beautiful relations, yet they can be torn down in a single incident. Forgiveness doesn’t just happen. There can be a lot of mess to clean up, and sometimes our whole lives need to be rearranged to fill the void left behind in our broken heart. But if we are willing to sweat a little, especially if we will let others see our mess and help us, we can overcome the chaos and rebuild what has been damaged.
****
Catrina Welch is an image- and life-coach whose message is not as much “what not to wear” as it is, “Know Who You Are,” which is the title of her book of guidelines for your personal image identity. Catrina has also written a Bible study to help women overcome their image issues. It is titled Supreme MakeOver: a Rich and Refreshing Devotional Experience. Her other books include Footprints Through the Sand: a Consolidation of Life-altering stories about Loving and Loosing a Trisomy-18 Baby and Confident Beauty: Reflecting the One Who Made You with the Images in Your Mirror and Your Soul, which will be available soon.
If you are interested in getting these books or having Catrina come speak at your event, you can contact her at www.CatrinaWelch.com or on facebook.
Leave a Reply