Is your home a refuge? Do you feel calm? At peace? Can you just Be Still without worrying what is going on around you or what menial tasks need to be done? Many of us just can’t be still. Even in our own homes. There are little things that constantly nag us. Things that need put away, rooms that need a good cleaning, items that we know we should donate. . .The list goes on.

Here’s the thing. We need a place of calm. We need a place of peace. We need a place where we can be still and meet the Lord. We need this for ourselves and for all those who live in our household. We also need to create a safe space for others. We are called to practice hospitality, to actually welcome others into our homes, yet sometimes we don’t feel comfortable there ourselves. How do we do this, then? How do we feel enough at peace that we can also welcome others to share this place of peace with us?

Enter Exhibit A:
My Entryway Closet. Here it is. Raw. Unfiltered. Horrible.

Each Wednesday we host our small group. You can find our home full of people. And laughter. And joy. And incredible food. (not cooked by me, bonus!) They are my tribe. My friends. The village that loves my kids. The people that I share the little things with, and the people that I can’t wait to tell the big things to, as well. But, in order to come to this place of beautiful chaos, I had to get over myself. Really. And, honestly, I’m not there yet. I still apologize for the “mess” that I spent the afternoon cleaning up. I still sweat it when I look around and see stains on the cabinets or a dirty towel in the bathroom. (oops) And I am ALWAYS bothered by this silly closet.

Now that it’s getting to be coat wearing weather, my guests will need to utilize this closet. And I will need to clean it. That’s just the way it works. It’s high on my bothersome list, therefore, I’m going to take care of it. And, you know what? It will help me to remain at peace.

Here’s the thing. This sounds ridiculous, I know. A little closet stresses me out? Why don’t I just close the door? Or let it go? Who cares? But, I guarantee that if you think about it you will be able to name the things about your home that make you uncomfortable. Or bother you. Or stress you out. Or maybe even prevent you from having dinner at the kitchen table with your kids. Or that make you cringe when I say the word hospitality.

So, that’s your challenge. Today’s challenge is easy. Or hard. Depends on how you look at it, I guess. Today’s challenge is to name that one thing that bothers you about your home, your place of refuge, and tackle it. So, if it’s your dining room table, clean it. If it’s that huge stack of papers, go through it. If it’s your bedroom, or your closet, or your entryway, or the playroom. . .you get the idea. Find the thing that bugs you and take care of it. This will bring you one step closer to your home being your refuge, your sweet spot. One step closer to peace.

p.s. I feel a little exposed sharing my yucky closet and all. If you have a space to tackle, I’d love to see your before and after pictures in the comments below. We got this.