First Impressions

 

In our home we have certain standards by which we keep. I hope that when guests enter our home they find themselves welcomed and find that it a comfortable and enjoyable place to be. We keep our home clean and organized for the most part. While some things have changed recently, here is what our living room looks like regularly. 

I say this not to brag, but only to say that this is the first impression guests have of our home when they walk in the door. Because of this, they may get the impression that our entire home is clean and organized, perhaps even clutter free.

Just a few weeks ago my wife, Kim, took a picture of the "play room" in the basement. This is a room that the kids can keep their toys in, play in, and, aside from general rules, create total chaos in while they explore their imaginations and have fun being kids. Here is what she captured:

These pictures are, by no means, the worst case scenario for the playroom or for the basement on a given day. Our kids have a lot of fun in this room and we would like nothing less. Yet as I thought about these pictures, the condition of our home, both in cleanliness and organization, it occurred to me that this is the way we often try to live our lives.

We strive to give certain impressions, perhaps first impressions to those we meet and interact with and we present the clean and organized portions to them. While, under the surface chaos reigns, things needing to be sorted out and perhaps even done away with.
Likewise, we often try to compartmentalize our lives, keeping the clean and organized for certain people or certain situations, while the messed up portions of our lives are open for others to see and experience. Some may think of the face/act we put forth at church versus that we show at work or home. I tend to put on one face for our friends, and acquaintances, while showing my true face to my family here at home.

We all need some chaos in our lives, areas that we can be free, free to say what we are feeling or thinking, areas that we are open, open to accountability and improvements, and areas where we can relax, relax from the pressures and stresses of this life. But, we also have areas in our lives that we have let go for far too long, areas that need to be cleaned up and cleaned out.