John 4:15-18 – The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." (NIV)

Every year, I find new stuff when I am out doing my cleanup around the property. The previous owners of our acreage buried their garbage. Over the past twelve years, I have discovered the tin can location, the glass pit, and the miscellaneous pile, as each spring, bits and pieces gradually resurface.

As I went about picking up more old pieces of coloured glass this year, it reminded me of my life and how the Lord, with His perfect timing, bit by bit, brings my own buried garbage to the surface of my mind: repressed feelings of anger or bitterness, fears or anxiety, or long-ago sins that, at the time, I never even realized were sins. Then, He gently shows me how to properly deal with these items that are detrimental to my spiritual, emotional, and physical life.

At first, much like the resurfacing of the garbage on our property, this unearthing in my own life was a little disconcerting, as it made me begin to wonder just what else I could have buried. But now, I take it all in stride. In fact, I am quite glad about the whole procedure, for it reminds me that God is definitely at work in my life, making me more and more like Jesus as He prepares me for the eventuality of heaven.

How about you? Like the woman at the well, is Jesus busy revealing things that you have buried or thought that He might not know about? If so, then be glad and pay attention to the Holy Spirit's leading as to how to best deal with the garbage. After all, it's all about becoming more and more like Christ, which is definitely a good and blessed happening.

Prayer: Father God, thank You that You love and care enough about us to keep unearthing all those things in our lives that keep us from being all that we are meant to be in Christ. Encourage our hearts to be open to the things that You bring to the surface of our minds, that we might deal with them in a positive and productive way through the guiding power of Your Holy Spirit. In Christ's name, we ask. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
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